The Second Chance
by Rikku-Hoshi
Summary: Rikku leaves for Luca feeling excited and full of adventure, only to realize the world of the rich and fabulous isn't all that it seems. Between her defeated cousin, her cousin's adulterous husband, and a handsome but cheating blitzball player, the only positive is her mysterious neighbor. But who is he and what does he want with her? And why does he throw such outrageous parties?
1. I Yuna

**Hi folks! **Yeah, it's me... again. (I might as well just stop trying to not write fanfiction because I always come back.) I've been working diligently on my original fics (or maybe not so diligently...) but, per usual, I kind of miss writing fanfic. And... if you were reading the synopsis of this story and thought it sounded vaguely and somehow familiar, it's because this story is based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece, _The Great Gatsby_.

Yes, that's right. I have taken 1920s New York City as F. Scott imagined it and transferred it into Spira (and with modern-age technology and ideas). As you may or may not be aware of, a new _Gatsby_ movie (starring Leonardo DiCaprio who was such a fantastic Gatsby) was released earlier this month (and let me tell you, I was full out obsessed-I hosted a "Gatsby Party" for the midnight showing and went to the theater dressed as a Flapper-yes, I was one of _those_ people). If you want to know the truth, I found the movie to be an incredibly disappointing interpretation of what is my personal favorite novel.

Anywho, just because the movie was a great disappointment doesn't mean my _Gatsby_ obsession ended. I'm currently reading "Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald" (F. Scott Fitzgerald's wife) by Therese Anne Fowler and the next book in my lineup is _Trimalchio: An Early Version of The Great Gatsby_. (Turns out F. Scott had written an almost completely different version of _The Great Gatsby_ before writing what we all know and love as _The Great Gatsby_ today!)

So anyway, I was discussing my obsession with _Gatsby _with 6jrz422 (who had offered to read my novelized version of CY (see my countless pleas in _The Internship_ about that ha ha)) and all the talk about _Gatsby _and FFX just... well... meant that this was just ASKING to be written. And once I started, I couldn't stop.

At first, I wasn't going to post this. But it's been fun to write (I'm almost done w/ the 3rd chapter) and I figured I might as well share for anyone who wants to read it.

My hope is that the story stays true to _Gatsby_ but yet I want it to be different. We'll see how successful I am. The first chapter is incredibly reminiscent of the beginning of _Gatsby_, but I promise it gets a bit different...well... starting with the fact that I made Nick Carroway a girl.

Anyway, enough of my blabbering. I hope you all enjoy!

(And if you're a huge _Gatsby_ fan like me, I promise to do my best not to butcher anything. Haha)

* * *

**I. Yuna**

I had just turned twenty-two when I left Bikanel to chase some sort of dreams I had out in the city of Luca, at the very end of May, just as spring was ripening into what was to become the hottest summer I could remember. My father, reluctant to see me go, stood outside of our small, modest home surrounded by sand dunes and put his hands on his hips. I had thought that perhaps he would offer me a farewell embrace or at least some words of wisdom, but all he managed was a bitter-sounding "You'll see, Rikku, that the world isn't what you think it is." He didn't need to tell me those words, though: his scowl said enough.

By the time fall settled in, I had the realization that those words my father had said that day as I left were true. The world wasn't what I had thought it was. Sure, the city was as glimmering and full of life as I had expected and dreamed it would be, and the air was full of the sea water and there was a sense of adventure that was inexistent in the dry deserts of Bikanel. The city carried a fast tempo that I had been desiring to experience for as long as I could recall.

But the reality was just as my father said: the world _wasn't_ what I had thought it would be. I imagined that the very souls that inhabited Luca would be as bright and shimmery as the lights that shone from the buildings when night fell. And while it is hard to argue that there wasn't a sense of glimmer and wonder about the people who walked the streets of Luca day-in and day-out, that light was a dark light—a much darker light than I had ever expected.

My summer in Luca was spent in a peculiar way; I never really felt as though I was _living_ in Luca, mostly because I never felt as though I entirely _belonged_ in Luca, but rather I felt as though I was an audience member, taking in a play or a musical of sorts. It was almost as though the acting troupe invited me on stage and welcomed me to take part in the play they were performing, but yet I never knew the lines. Instead, I stood there, on stage with them, and sometimes hand-in-hand with the sharp actors and actresses, but only watched them, mouth open and eyes wide, unable to guess what they would do next or unable to keep step with them. And, at the closing, it was only right that I packed my belongings and headed back to Bikanel—I was to find, after all, that even if I did memorize the lines, I still wasn't a good enough actress to fit into the dramas that they put on day after day after day.

The only other outsider who joined me up on stage was the handsome Tidus, the once-star blitzball player hailing from the North (all the way from Zanarkand, if you can imagine). And while it was also obvious (to me, at least) that Tidus was just as clueless as to what he was doing on the stage as I was, his acting abilities outdid everybody's. He had amazed me from the beginning, and not just because of his flashy personality and appearance. I suppose it was perhaps because of the comradery I felt towards him, being that, like me, he never quite belonged, no matter how hard he tried.

Yes, Tidus ended up being all right in the end. He had us all fooled, even when I thought I could see through him, but in the end, I will always remember him as someone I, at the very least, _ought_ to admire.

* * *

I flew into Djose, where I stayed momentarily with my mother's mother and father, my grandparents whom I had not seen since I was very young. Both of them seemed just as disappointed that I was heading south to Luca as my father. After staying only two days, I then drove from Djose down to Luca; a long, but very refreshing jaunt.

I first determined that I would not easily fit into Luca the moment I hit the city limit. I drove into Luca in a Mercury Lynx that had once belonged to my grandfather and immediately realized that _no one else_ in the city of Luca was driving a car that was older than five years. Shiny Mustangs, BMWs, Audis, Range Rovers, Mercedes, Camaros, Ferraris, Lamborghinis… I stopped paying attention after a while, because eventually the cars began to blend together, a blur of sparkling metal.

Ocean-front property in Luca is outrageously expensive, but I managed to find a small cabin to rent in the outskirts of the city. Even though I had never been to Luca before, I was well aware that my cabin was situated on a plot in West Luca, the least fashionable of East and West Luca. East Luca, therefore, was the more fashionable of the two. I was aware of this fact because it just-so-happened that my cousin and her husband of only five months had just moved into East Luca.

It also helped that to reach West Luca, I first had to drive through East Luca. The homes that I passed were absolutely breathtaking. Names and monograms littered the mailboxes that were encrusted with gold and carved out of marble. _Seymour Guado_, the youngest Maester of Spira. _Sir Maechen_, the renowned scholar. _Maester Kinoc_, the retired Maester.

I stopped momentarily as I discovered the home—"home" was an understatement, really; the better word would be "mansion"—belonging to my cousin. I looked up the long drive and could see the home towering in the distance. My eyebrows rose. I wasn't close to my cousin (I had not seen her since her father had passed away years and years ago, just as she was finishing high school) but I did know her husband. We had been students together at the prestigious Bevelle University. I smiled momentarily at my memory of him, but that smile was fleeting.

I had been surprised to receive the invitation from my cousin inviting me to her wedding, already five months prior. I had been even more surprised to discover _who_ she was marrying. While we had been chummy, my cousin's husband and I, back in school, that was all I wanted to be with him. And being "chummy" with him was enough to know that, if it were my choice, I would not want to marry him.

But, I decided with a decisive nod as I continued on my trek to my new home, if my cousin's money needed company, than my old chum from college was the perfect company for her. Thinking of the amount of money they must have between them caused me to feel dizzy.

Eventually I got lost and pulled over to the side of the road. I pulled out my grandfather's old atlas that had been tucked in the backseat and tried to figure it out, wishing I had been able to buy a GPS or at least a smartphone before heading down south. I blew my bangs out of my face and took the opportunity to fan myself with the map. The air conditioning in the old Mercury had stopped working just as I started crossing the plains known as the Mi'ihen Highroad and I'd been suffering without ever since. The temperatures were growing, despite the fact that the sweltering sun was finally disappearing behind the trees that lined the western side of Luca.

Finally, I managed to find the road I was looking for, a narrow, gravel, dusty road that led me far away from the city and into a strange, thick forest. Just as I was thinking there were no signs of civilization anywhere, I saw a large iron-gate off to the right. I slowed down, realizing that I must be close to my cabin. But as I squinted past the gates, I realized that they were hiding the entrance to a house off in the distance, much, much larger than most of the homes I had passed in East Luca. I followed the gate up, wondering why it was so tall.

A strange shiver went down my spine—who was that landowner trying to keep out? Or, I thought as I finally drove quickly away—who was he trying to keep _in._

Only a few yards later did I discover my cabin. Feeling relieved, I pulled into the driveway and pulled out my few belongings from the trunk. From where my cabin was situated, I had an even better view to the large, looming mansion.

I gulped—apparently, this mansion was my neighbor.

I had moved all of my belongings into the little three-room cabin just as dusk was settling in. I opened all of my windows, hoping it wasn't going to rain, in hopes of airing the place out and welcoming a nice, cold breeze.

Just as I was about to settle in for the night, my old flip-phone began to buzz on the table. I rushed to it, wondering if my father had cared enough to call to make sure I'd made it alright, but it was a number I didn't recognize—but, a Luca number.

Feeling confused, I cautiously answered it: "Hello?"

"Rikku? I just caught word that you are in Luca for the summer!"

I had no idea whose voice was chirping in my ear.

"Your brother got a hold of me earlier today. He said he'd been trying to call you but wasn't getting service, or something. I can't possibly imagine how your family has managed to stay in Bikanel all these years. I mean—it's positively medieval there!"

My mind was running as I tried to think of a polite way to ask who was calling.

"Anyway, as soon as I heard you were here for the summer, Baralai and I decided you absolutely must come visit at once!"

Baralai. It was Yuna who was calling me!

I let out a sigh of relief at my realization of who was talking to me and said a cheerful, "I'd love to visit you!"

"You must absolutely come right now!" Yuna said. "We're having a bit of a late dinner. You'll come, won't you?"

"Yes, I will come right now!" I said. I felt elated at the idea of seeing Yuna (despite not having seen her in so many years) and Baralai (despite the fact that the last time I had seen him had been a tad awkward). Mostly, as night was settling into Luca, I began to realize how lonely it was out here, with just me and the quiet mansion next door.

I swiped my keys off of my counter and practically jogged out to my car. I stopped though, as I squinted into the night, toward my neighbor. In the little light that there was, I saw the soft silhouette of what appeared to be a man, standing out on the dock, staring into the ocean.

I shook my head and continued to my car.

* * *

I expected Yuna to greet me, but it was instead Baralai.

"Rikku!" he said, putting on a dazzling smile that I had seen many times. He pulled me into a quick hug and gave me a very light peck on my cheek. He was being careful, I realized, and I was grateful for that.

"How are you?" he asked, ruffling my hair as though I was a child. I was three years younger than him and he had always—or, well, mostly—treated me as such.

"I'm doing alright," I managed.

"What brings you out here?" he asked. We were standing on the front porch of his mansion and my eyes couldn't stop scouring every inch of it.

"I got a job," I said, shifting my gaudy and outdated purse to the side. "Just a simple administrative job."

"Administrative job? You should have told me you were looking and I would have set you up with something better."

I gave him a small, wry smile. I didn't really want to owe Baralai anything for any favors. I had figured that much out during my one year with him in college.

"Well, come on in," Baralai said. "Yuna's been excited to see you."

He led the way into the large, open verandah, and then into a lounge room of sorts.

"Rikku!" I was suddenly being smothered by a hug before I knew what was happening. "It's so good to see you! How long are you here for?"

"Permanently," I said, surely, as my cousin pulled away from me. "How are you, Yuna?"

Yuna made a face at me, and said, "Call me Yunie. Remember? Like when we were children!" She was still holding my hands and she looked so entirely happy to see me that I felt as though I might actually disappoint her.

"Sure, Yunie," I said, smiling meekly.

"Oh, Rikku, this is Baralai's best friend, Gippal."

I hadn't noticed anyone else was in the room, but slouched on one of the long leather sofas was a very tall man with blonde hair. I felt my expressions soften as I noticed from his fashion that he was Al Bhed.

He was watching a huge, flat-screen sphere that was on the wall, which I realized was playing a blitzball game. He seemed much more interested in the game than me.

But eventually he tore his eyes away from the game and gave me a quick, short nod.

"Nice to meet you," he said.

"Let's have some supper," Yuna said then, clapping her hands together as though the idea of having dinner was so exciting. I put on a smile for her sake and followed her to the dining room, which was open into the air on one side. I noticed Gippal had turned the TV off and seemed to be reluctantly following us.

Baralai was already in the dining room sitting down. He seemed to be going through some mail but he smiled at both Gippal and I as we walked in the room. He seemed, though, to ignore Yuna, which I felt odd.

I wasn't entirely sure how their relationship worked, and I figured ten minutes wasn't long enough to properly form an opinion on the matter. But I had known Yuna my entire life and had known Baralai long enough that I felt as though I had a good sense of his character. And, basing my opinion on those two facts, I felt as though the only thing Yuna and Baralai really had in common was their money.

Then, just as some servants brought out food (which shocked me—I didn't know people in this day and age actually still _had_ servants), Baralai suddenly stood up, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket as he did so.

"Excuse me," he said, smiling politely and walking away.

There was a strange, heavy silence at the table that followed as Baralai walked away. Gippal and Yuna exchanged a glance that I didn't understand and Yuna smiled at me and said, "I'll be right back, Rikku. I'm so glad you're here."

Then, her smile disappeared and was replaced by a serious expression. She stood up hastily, tossing her cloth napkin carelessly onto her plate. She seemed to be heading in the same direction that Baralai had just disappeared.

The heavy silence that had followed Baralai's departure was now replaced with an awkward silence. I looked at my empty plate, wondering if it would be so impolite as to help myself to some of the baked pasta that had been placed on the table—I was, after all, starving. Then, feeling awkward at the silence, I smiled at Gippal and said, "I have to ask, are you originally from Bikanel as well?"

But Gippal appeared distracted. I noticed he was looking into the house, where Baralai and Yuna had disappeared. He laughed then, and leaned back in his chair.

"Yuna's gonna be _pissed_," he said, still chuckling to himself. He leaned forward then and grabbed a dinner roll off of its platter and began to eat it without even buttering it.

"Um, pissed about what?" I asked, nervously tucking my long bangs behind my ear.

"Hm?" Gippal said, now looking at me, as though he had forgotten I was ever there. "Oh, because she's calling."

"Who?"

Gippal chucked to himself again and finished the roll.

"His mistress."

"Baralai has a mistress?" I said this as though it surprised me. In reality, I had never known Baralai to be the faithful type. Appearances suggested otherwise, but once I had gotten to know him, it had become quite clear that having a girlfriend did not stop Baralai from, well, exploring. I supposed having a wife didn't make it any different.

My heart sank, though. I had hoped to find Baralai and Yuna in a state of married bliss. They had, after all, only been married for a few months!

"Yup," Gippal said, taking another roll. "In the city."

I was about to ask him who it was or why he had a mistress or how Gippal knew it was Baralai's mistress who was calling, but at that moment, both Baralai and Yuna returned to the table, Yuna wearing an over-exaggerated smile and Baralai appearing rather bored.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting," Yuna said, smiling at me. "Were you in Bevelle at all, Rikku?"

"No, I took an airship straight from Bikanel to Djose," I answered.

"What a shame," Yuna said. "I miss Bevelle so terribly."

"What caused you two to move here?" I asked. Last I knew, they were getting married in Bevelle. I had assumed they would live there forever. From what I recalled, Baralai had a fantastic family estate that Yuna and he were moving into in Bevelle. But suddenly they were hastily swept away to Luca.

This question caused Yuna to let out a bit of nervous laughter, which she tried to cover by transforming it into a more casual laugh, but the nervousness was still apparent in her light laugh.

But then she turned serious and her eyes went to Baralai.

"Why don't you explain it, _honey_," she said, scooping some pasta onto her plate. The strange, tense feeling in the air was back.

"Do we really have to do this, Yuna?" Baralai just said and he gave me an eye roll as though he expected me to be on _his_ side of things.

"Well, how do you two know each other?" Gippal suddenly said, sitting straight up and pointing from me to Baralai.

"We were classmates at Bevelle U," Baralai said, shooting me a smile. "Rikku was in the poly-sci honorary society. She was the youngest member we allowed in."

"You were a poly-sci major?" Yuna's attention as turned to me. She suddenly looked sad and said, "We need to get to know each other better."

This I agreed with. We had been quite close as girls.

I smiled and nodded warmly.

"Well, we'll have all summer," Yuna said.

I thought it odd that Yuna seemed to only assume I would be in Luca for the summer. I kept trying to explain to her that it was permanent—that I expected to live in Luca for perhaps my entire life. That night, sitting outside in the warm Luca air, overlooking the ocean, I definitely felt as though I could stay forever. I was enchanted by the lights emitting from the mansion, I was enchanted by the delicious food that was scattered around the table, and I was even rather enchanted by the tall, blonde Gippal who appeared so wonderfully bored…

Yuna seemed to notice that I was having trouble taking my eyes off of Gippal, too, for at one point she caught my eye, raised her eyebrows as me, and nodded ever-so-slightly towards Gippal. I answered with a blush in my cheeks.

We finished the night with dessert and glasses of wine (which I attempted to protest; my last experience with Baralai and alcohol had not been the most pleasant) and then I was on my way back to the west, where I once again passed the iron gates that closed off my neighbor's drive.

I paid the mansion next to me no attention though, and instead walked into my dark, creaky cottage. The bed was uncomfortable, but feeling happy that I had at least reconnected with Yuna (we were scheduled to have lunch the following day), I drifted off into a fairly nice slumber.


	2. II Gippal

**Hi!** This is honestly my favorite chapter so far (I'm currently just starting Chapter V-staying ahead of the game for once!). This chapter actually shares the least amount of similarities with _Gatsby_ of any of my chapters that I've written so far, but maybe that's what I like about it. And while the chapter is titled "Gippal," the chapter is definitely more about Yuna. I'm trying to give her a little more background than we ever got about Daisy. :)

I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

**II. Gippal**

Yuna carried a sense of excitement with her. I almost felt as though everything had some sort of novelty to it when I was around her. We were drinking tea out on the verandah and laughing about memories of our childhood, back when I would visit her in Bevelle during the summers and winter vacations from school. In fact, it was because of my trips to visit her in Bevelle that I had determined I wanted to go to Bevelle for school.

"So," Yuna said, leaning towards me with a sly smile on her lips, "I could see in your eyes last night that you find Gippal to be mighty attractive."

"I don't know if 'mighty' is the proper adverb, but yes, I do find him attractive," I said. "Actually, he looks familiar. Is he from Bikanel?"

"He's from Bevelle, actually," Yuna said, giving me a small shrug. "I knew him when I was younger, being that he grew up just down the street from me. He introduced me to Baralai, actually."

I had always wondered how Yuna and Baralai had somehow met and had determined that money must simply lead to more money and introduce itself to money. But it made sense that a mutual friend would introduce them. That was, after all, the more typical way that people seemed to meet their future husbands.

I felt myself chewing thoughtfully on my bottom lip. Could Gippal be my future husband introduced to me by mutual friends?

My blazing cheeks must have confirmed that I was thinking about Gippal, for Yuna suddenly smiled widely at me and clapped her hands together.

"I will make you two fall in love with each other," she said, taking a sip of her tea. "I'm a fantastic matchmaker."

"I hope he'll have someone like me," I murmured. "I'm just an administrative assistant at a law firm."

Yuna gave me a very strange look, followed by an awkward sort of laugh.

"Gippal does have a tendency to only date rich girls…" she said. When her eyes met mine, there seemed to be an apologetic glimmer in them. She quickly hid it, though, and said, "But maybe we can convince him to make an exception!"

I smiled at her, but that heavy, thick air was suddenly around us again. I looked off into the ocean, wondering if the air was heavy with the ocean water and that was the reason why being at Yuna and Baralai's kept making me feel as though I was about to suffocate.

"So, where's Baralai?" I asked casually as I took my own sip of tea.

Yuna tensed across the table from me and then let out a nervous sounding laugh.

"Who knows where he is," she said, rolling her eyes. "I can't keep him on a leash—and trust me, I've tried. But you must know him."

I did know him. It was my turn to offer an apologetic glance.

My thoughts suddenly went back to Gippal though, and I made a realization.

"Wait, I know why Gippal looks so familiar!" I said, setting my tea cup down so quickly that it clamored loudly on the silver plate I set it on. "He's the famous blitzball player!"

"Oh, yes, of course!" Yuna said, laughing. "I've known him so long that I forget about his blitzball playing."

Yuna's face suddenly lightened then, and she said, "Speaking of Gippal and blitzball, he actually has a game later this evening. Baralai and I usually go, but who knows if Baralai will be back for the game. Would you like to go with me instead?"

I nodded quickly. I had never been to a professional blitzball game! And the Luca Goers were the best team in all of Spira! And Gippal…

I felt dizzy. Gippal was the best blitzball player in all of Spira.

I had dinner just the night before with the most famous blitzer in Spira and hadn't even noticed!

Yuna scrunched her nose playfully at me, and said, "Come on, I have some jerseys we can wear. Baralai always says it's foolish to wear jerseys to games, but since he won't be there, we can do whatever we want." She suddenly had a haughty look to her as she marched off, leaving her tea unfinished, and obviously expecting me to follow.

I followed her into the large mansion and she led me up the staircase, which was lined with what I assumed to be the finest rugs, usually coming all the way from Macalania. Soon we were in Yuna's bedroom, and she led me to the largest walk-in closet I had ever been in. It was almost like a library for clothes.

"Hm, they must be back here somewhere," Yuna said, walking to the far-most corner of the closet. "Here, I think my Goer jerseys are…" A jersey suddenly fell off from the hanger and right into Yuna's arms. It wasn't a jersey that I recognized, and from where I was standing, it looked a bit tattered and worn.

A weird expression was suddenly on Yuna's face as she looked at the jersey that was cradled in her arms. But she swallowed loudly, bundled the jersey up into a ball, and threw it aside, into a basket that I wasn't entirely sure if it was a laundry basket or a garbage basket.

"Never mind about the jerseys," she said, and again, the air around us was suddenly entirely different than the light, airy mood I had felt just seconds earlier. She looked at me and let out a small sigh. A smile was on her face.

"I'm so glad you're here, Rikku," she said. It felt as though it was at least the tenth time she had said those words to me in fewer than twenty-four hours. "I really need a friend right now."

I managed a smile, and I said, "Hey, I need one too. After all, I don't know anyone here but you and Baralai!"

Yuna's smile faltered a bit when I said Baralai's name. But she regained herself.

"I'm sorry we didn't see more of each other after my father's death," Yuna said, turning again to her closet, but away from the corner that she had been in earlier. "As I'm sure you've heard, I wasn't exactly acting the wisest."

She gave me a look as though to gauge how much my family had gossiped about her actions once her father died. I tried to keep my face blank, as though I would while playing a poker game, but Yuna must have managed to see through it.

"I made some terrible, terrible mistakes," Yuna said, and she now ran her hands down her numerous clothing items. "It's just that, one minute, I had my entire life figured out, and the next… well, the next, everything was so undecided."

I offered her a meek smile. The last time I had seen Yuna before moving to Luca was at her father's funeral. I was not related to her father by blood, but I had always respected him. And, because back then Yuna and I were much closer, I felt as though I needed to be there for her. As her friend.

"Not a day goes by that I don't think of your father and what a great man he was," I said, mostly because I knew it was what I was _expected _to say. Again, I offered Yuna a meek smile.

"He was, I suppose," Yuna said, shrugging slightly. "I had always been so upset at him for making my decisions for me, but when he died, and I no longer had someone to decide for me, I just found myself making poor decisions over and over and over again." She laughed and looked at me. I knew she was trying to keep the conversation as light and happy as the yellow blouse she was pulling from its spot on the hanger, but her eyes told a different story. They were filled with sadness.

"Hey, it's never too late to fix mistakes," I said, almost eagerly. Even though I had already decided that I wanted to get to know Yuna again and that I wanted to be her friend, this serious conversation was making me feel a bit awkward.

"You think so?" she asked me. She pulled out a pair of pleated navy blue shorts.

"Sure," I said.

"Well," Yuna said, spinning so that she was facing me. She was now carrying an entire outfit in her arms, including a brown belt and a pair of sandals. I couldn't help but wonder how much money was cradled in her arms as she stood there. "It's probably a little too late for me to go back to school."

I couldn't help but smile a bit when she said this. Yuna had been accepted to Besaid University, a small but incredibly prestigious school located on the small island that Yuna's family had vacationed in. But she had surprised all of us by turning down her admission and instead flitting from societal party to societal party, attached almost by the hip to her best friend, a girl a year older than Yuna named Dona, whose father was a Maester alongside Yuna's.

Dona was a tabloid superstar—always getting herself into trouble here and there and always seeking attention. I still remembered how shocked I was to be at the grocery store, picking up some items for my dad when I'd seen Yuna's face on a tabloid.

"Daughter of the Late Maester Braska Goes Wild!" the headline had read. I had actually been too shocked to read the article, but that hadn't meant other articles hadn't surfaced that I had been unable to ignore.

"We all do silly things when we're younger," I just said, smiling.

Yuna's eyes suddenly went to the blitzball jersey she had thrown aside.

"Yes, we do," she said, and with that, she left the closet, and I wasn't entirely sure whether she was expecting me to follow or if she had already grown bored with me.

* * *

Luca Stadium was even more impressive than I could have imagined it to be. It was made completely out of some sort of stone and the sphere pool, Yuna explained to me, was filled with the best technology available. She also pointed out all of the championship banners that hung around the stadium, telling me that Luca had the second-most amount of championships in Spira, trailing Zanarkand.

"But only by one," she said quickly, almost as though she was somehow offended that Zanarkand had more championships than Luca.

"I never took you to be such a blitzball fan," I said, as Yuna led the way to a private suite.

Yuna shrugged and said, "My father hated blitzball. But my friend Dona _loved _it."

I wanted to ask Yuna more about Dona. Was Yuna aware of what the tabloids said about Dona? Was Yuna aware of what the tabloids had said about herself?

Yuna had put on the yellow blouse with the navy-blue shorts and expensive sandals. She was also wearing a stylish, beach-y fedora with a navy blue ribbon around it. She was wearing horn-rimmed sunglasses with the brand symbol on the corner. I didn't even recognize what brand it was, and that fact alone was enough to embarrass me.

Meanwhile, I was wearing a plain t-short and shorts that were slightly too large for me. I couldn't help but shift uncomfortably as I realized that everyone in the suite was dressed so well.

"Oh, there's Gippal," Yuna said then, pointing towards the players who had just swam into the sphere. "Doesn't he look so cool?" She nudged me and laughed.

I watched as Gippal swam deftly around the pool. Then, I looked around the other inhabitants in the suite again. Surely Gippal would rather date one of the other girls. I swallowed hard, ignoring the fact that it hurt to swallow the lump that had so quickly formed in my throat.

The players lined up to take the draw and Yuna suddenly sat by with a sly look on her face.

"Watch Gippal," she said, leaning close to me and whispering. "What him as they take the face-off."

I trained my eyes on Gippal, who was playing left wing, furthest away from us. Still, there was no denying that just before the ball was released for the centers to grab, Gippal pressed his way forward. When his teammate caught the ball, Gippal was already in perfect position for the pass.

"Is he supposed to start off early like that?" I questioned, turning to Yuna, feeling a little stupid at my lack of blitzball knowledge.

Yuna grinned at me and said, "Gippal's a notorious cheater."

For some reason, this shocked me. If he was so notorious at cheating, why didn't anyone stop him?

I decided to voice this out loud.

"Oh, Rikku," Yuna said, patting my arm as though she sympathized with me over something, "the refs are paid off. Don't you know anything about sports?"

I watched as Gippal swam toward the net. He received a pass and just like that, he scored.

Yuna leaned back with a satisfied look on her face and said, "It won't be long now before Luca has just as many championships as Zanarkand, if not more."

It didn't seem right. I looked at the referees as they swam around, wondering what their point was if they already knew who was going to win the game.

"Yuna—Yunie, doesn't it upset you that the refs are paid off?"

"Sh," Yuna said, shushing me slightly. "Not everyone in Spira needs to know, Rikku. And sure, it's sad. But, come on, that's how the world works anyway."

I was about to ask her what she meant by that, but I realized before I opened my mouth that I already knew the answer to my own question—if someone could pay off the refs, then they would. Money could solve everything, and sitting by Yuna was enough proof of that.

I took a deep breath and attempted to enjoy the game and try to ignore the fact that it was now so clear that Gippal was breaking the rules every chance he got.

* * *

When the game ended (Luca won 2-0), Yuna turned to me and said, "Do you want to go see Gippal?"

At this point, I wasn't really sure I ever wanted to see Gippal again, but I nodded slowly and said 'sure.'

Yuna stood up quickly and led me back to the lobby and then over to an elevator. She walked in and smiled at the attendant in the elevator and said, "Event Floor, please."

Before long, I was standing outside of the locker room. Well, I wasn't standing—I was actually sitting in a sort of lounge area. Other girls were around us, as were a few families. Yuna explained that they were the families or wives or girlfriends of the players. Some of them greeted Yuna.

"I can't believe you can just come down here…" I mumbled. "You guys must be really close with Gippal."

Yuna gave one of her famous slight shrugs and said, "Gippal's been a very good friend of mine for a long time. And he's been Baralai's friend for even longer—"

Just then, Gippal exited the locker room, so Yuna interrupted herself and said, "Gippal! Hey!"

He turned towards her voice and put on a smile. His hair was still damp. Even though I'd found myself a bit disgusted with him as I watched him constantly cheat in the sphere pool, my heart still skipped a beat when his eyes met mine.

"Hey, Yuna," he said, bending down to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. "And… Rikku. How are ya?"

My heart also skipped a beat when he remembered my name.

"I'm alright," I answered.

"Let's get some supper and talk," Yuna said, linking her arm in Gippal's with her left and then taking my arm in her right.

"Talk about what?" Gippal asked, nodding to some of his teammates that we were passing as Yuna led us out.

"Life—your blitzball game, whatever you want," Yuna said. She smiled at him and then smiled at me.

"Where's 'Lai?" Gippal asked, almost hesitantly, as we reached the city street and began walking across to a rather fancy looking restaurant.

"Who knows," Yuna answered. "Why does everyone always expect me to spend every waking moment with him?"

"I just asked a question," Gippal said calmly. I noticed Gippal tightened his arm around Yuna's. "You know how important it is to keep up appearances, Yuna."

I let my eyebrows push forward, wondering what Gippal meant by that. But Yuna was looking at Gippal and Gippal was looking at Yuna, and the only reason I was still connected to the two was because my arm was still linked in Yuna's.

The restaurant we had walked into was quite crowded, but Gippal simply released Yuna's arm from his and walked up to the maître d'. He said something to the tall man wearing a tuxedo, and with that, we were led to the back room, where there were few people around. I knew without asking that we had just been taken to the V.I.P. room. I took a deep breath. I hadn't even been to Luca for an entire day and already I was feeling completely spoiled.

And a little bit in over my head.

We were all seated, me next to Gippal and Yuna across from us. She gave me a look, though, and then smiled.

"I have to use the ladies' room. I'll be back shortly!" She smiled a knowing smile at me and walked away quickly, pausing to say hello to a young woman she had passed.

It was obvious to me that she had left on purpose in an attempt to give me "alone time" with Gippal. I wasn't sure if I should feel grateful or not.

Gippal rolled his head to look at me, and said, "So, where do you live?"

"Um…" I tried to think how I could make my little cottage in West Luca seem appealing. "I'm just renting a place along the bay," I said. I wasn't really sure if it was actually referred to as "the bay" or not.

"East or west?" Gippal asked.

I took a deep breath and said, "West."

"Oh, hey, do you know a guy named Tidus?" Gippal asked, looking up from the drink menu, which he had been pouring over as though it was a novel he couldn't stand to put down.

"Tidus? No," I answered, shaking my head.

"Oh, he lives out there. He throws these outrageous parties every now and then. I've been to a few. His place is _huge_. The biggest mansion in West Luca for sure."

"Oh, I wonder if that's my neighbor…" I said, my eyes scanning the prices on the menu for the cheapest meal. "I live next door to a huge mansion. But so far it's been completely quiet."

"That's probably him," Gippal said. "We should check out one of his parties together sometime."

I was uncertain whether to feel flattered that Gippal had just asked me to go to a party with him or to feel awkward knowing that my neighbor would probably never send me an invitation to one of his parties.

"Well, what's this Tidus guy like?" I asked.

"Hm? Oh, I've never actually met him," Gippal said, closing his menu. "No one has."

I thought this odd, but at that moment, Yuna returned and gave me a smile as if to ask whether I had made any headway with Gippal.

"Gippal, you'll never guess who I met on the way to the restroom," Yuna said, though, her attention turned to Gippal. And with that, she started talking about some guy who had apparently made a move on her years and years ago.

"Can you imagine?" Yuna said, laughing at the end of her story. "The idea of him with me!"

* * *

After eating far too much and _spending_ far too much, Yuna drove me back to her house. Night was falling and as we pulled into the driveway (where I noticed a servant was waiting to park Yuna's car in the garage for her), Yuna turned to me and asked if I'd like to stay longer.

"Baralai should be home now," she added with a sense of annoyance.

"I would love to," I said, stepping out of her brand new car (I wasn't even sure _what_ kind of car it was—all I knew was that it must be expensive; of course, I could figure that out without even seeing the car). "But I start my job tomorrow. So I should probably head home and get ready."

Yuna gave me a look as though she didn't understand. I felt a twinge of jealousy as I realized she had probably never worked a day in her life. How odd it was that we came from such different backgrounds. But, in all honesty, I had been jealous of her since childhood.

"Well, it was great hanging out with you today," she said, hugging me. "I would have sat at home all day and just driven myself nuts with…thoughts."

I tried to smile understandingly at her, but it was my turn to look as though I wasn't on the same page as her. But, I managed a smile and said, "Goodbye, Yuna!"

"Are you sure you don't want to come in and see Baralai?" she asked. She laughed, though, immediately after asking, as though it was all some sort of joke.

"I'm sure I'll see him soon," I answered quickly. "Goodnight!"

"Goodnight!"

I climbed into my car (which a servant had fetched for me—it was especially embarrassing to have a _servant_ look at me with disdain) and made my way back to my side of Luca.

As I turned onto the road to the forest, though, I instantly felt a difference in the air. Not to mention the fact that the forest seemed to be glowing.

There was a distant hum of something, and I turned my radio dial down to hear music in the distance. Then, there was a large _Bang!_ that caused me to jump and almost swerve my car off the road. I hit the breaks and leaned over the passenger side to see out the window. There were fireworks going off in the sky.

Feeling confused, I continued on, but tonight, my neighbor's gate was wide open. I peered through and saw cars parked along the drive, in the yard, and even outside of the gate. More fireworks went off. The music was getting louder.

I felt my mouth drop open as I reached my cottage.

Gippal was right—my neighbor was having the biggest party I had ever seen.

I climbed out of my car, my mouth open. I felt almost enchanted by the party, as though it was dragging me in—like a moth to light. I stood outside my car for some time, watching more fireworks, listening to the music, and hearing distant shrieks and screams of laughter.

Finally, blinking and shaking my head in disbelief, I made my way inside, hoping the party wouldn't keep me up.


	3. III Baralai

Hi guys! Here is chapter three-this one really closely follows _Gatsby-_at least, I think it does. I actually left my copy of _Gatsby_ at my parent's house and haven't been able to get a new copy yet!

I played around with the idea of changing some things in this chapter, but I ended up keeping it pretty straightforward and similar to F. Scott's _Gatsby_. I did skip out on one of my favorite parts though.. (the part where Myrtle Wilson is talking to someone at the party and talks about when she first met Tom... it's one of my favorite parts because I feel like it gives Tom and Myrtle's relationship some actual, real substance... that said, I skipped out on substance! Not important for this story. :))

Okay, enough of my _Gatsby_ ramblings. Here is chapter 3-enjoy!

* * *

**III. Baralai**

Work was frustrating. It was a small firm located on the stuffy 11th floor of a 12-floor building. The attorneys were all ancient—the youngest of three partners had just celebrated his eightieth birthday. None of the attorneys used computers so it was my job to type things up. Let's just say reading the handwriting of an eighty-eight-year-old man was not how I'd expected to spend my entire morning.

At lunch I went for a walk, glad to be out of the office and enjoying the fresh air. I took a seat on a bench outside of my building and pulled out the meager lunch I had packed for myself consisting of just a PB&J. After all the shrimp and mussels and steak I'd eaten yesterday, the PB&J was actually almost a welcome sight.

"Rikku?" I suddenly heard a voice say. I looked around and sure enough, there was Baralai, smiling and waving at me. He walked quickly over to me and took a seat on the bench next to me. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

I finished chewing the bite I had just taken and pointed up at the building behind me.

"This is where I work," I said.

"Wait, which firm?" Baralai asked.

"Firion, Gordon, and Joseph," I answered.

A strange smile was suddenly on Baralai's face.

"You know, you should take the afternoon off!" he said, looking excited. "Hang with me. Come on, we'll get a real lunch!" He pointed to my PB&J and laughed.

"Um, I can't just take off for the afternoon," I said, staring at him as though he was crazy. "It's my first day, Baralai. They'll fire me."

"Oh, come on, just call them. I've done some work with them. They're just a bunch of old bafoons. In fact, I'll call them myself."

Before I could stop him, Baralai suddenly pulled out his fancy phone (I hadn't even seen anything like it) and seemed to be looking at something on his screen. Then, he tapped his screen and held his phone to his ear.

He looked at me and grinned as he said, "Yes, hello? This is Baralai. Mm-hmm, yes, I'm glad you remember me! Anyway, your new assistant, Rikku? She's a dear friend of mine and I'd like to take her to a long lunch. Yes. Right. So she won't be in until tomorrow. Alright. Yup. Bye."

He hung up and gave me a broad smile.

I simply sat there, staring at him, my mouth agape. Had he really just done that?

"Now come on," he said, standing up and pulling me along with him. He even took my sandwich from me and threw it in the garbage. "Lunch on me," he said.

"No, Baralai, honestly, I can't—"

"Hey now, I just did you a favor!" Baralai said, suddenly looking incredibly angry. "You would completely embarrass me if you were to walk back into that building after I just asked them to let you have the afternoon off."

I knew this mood of Baralai. I silently cursed him. He'd used these manipulative tactics on me many a-time when I was just a mere freshman in college.

"Now are you coming or not?" he said in a demanding tone.

I sighed and said, "Fine. But I can't keep doing this."

"Hey, they know you're friends with me, now," Baralai said, leading me away from my building. "You should really thank me."

"Thank you," I said, although my tone was anything but thankful.

It seemed to please Baralai though, for a smile suddenly lit his face and he said, "How lucky for me to run into you like this!"

I was not thinking it was "lucky."

Baralai led me just to the end of the block and then to a small restaurant. We were seated and he told me to order anything I wanted.

Once our orders were placed (I went ahead and ordered myself a steak, figuring I was probably soon to be unemployed so I might as well have my fill while I could), Baralai smiled and me and said, "We understand each other, right Rikku?"

"Of course," I answered without giving it much thought.

"Rikku, I'm serious," Baralai said, and I realized he was trying to get me to look at him.

"Well, so am I," I said, looking at him and shrugging.

"You know I never tried to…" Baralai trailed, as though trying to think of the right word. "You know…"

"Are you talking about the end-of-the-year party?" I asked. "Forget about it, Baralai. That was four years ago. And we had both had a bit too much to drink."

"Okay," Baralai said, nodding. He put on a bright smile, then, and said, "I'm glad there's no bad blood between us."

"Me too," I said, and I actually felt a little bit guilty, because even though I had just told him that I'd forgiven him for leading me on at the end-of-the-year party, I knew that I really hadn't. I wasn't sure if I'd ever be able to toss aside the feelings that he had left me with.

"Anyway, look, Rikku… I don't know what Yuna's told you about me, but…" He stopped and looked at me and then shrugged and said, "Everything between us is fine. You understand that, right?"

"Honestly, Baralai, Yuna hasn't said anything," I said. I didn't tell him that Gippal had suggested he was having an affair. But Yuna certainly hadn't said anything.

"Well, she gets upset sometimes and makes things up in that mind of hers," Baralai said, shaking his head as though he was discussing a tragedy.

I didn't know what to say, though, so I just stayed quiet.

From there Baralai started talking about our school days, talking about different classmates we'd had and the fantastic successful things they were now doing. I suddenly felt like a failure.

The truth of the matter was, the only reason I'd been accepted into the poly sci honor society (more commonly known as Pi Sigma Alpha) was because, in part, I had been recommended by a few professors. But I'd always had a weird suspicion that the real reason I'd been allowed into the society was because Baralai thought I was cute. I blushed at the thought now. Who ever could have predicted that he'd marry my cousin?

Additionally, I was also the only scholarship student in the honorary society—the rest of the society was made up of people with comparable wealth to Baralai. So of course all of the fellow members went on to do fantastic things with themselves—money could, after all, buy all the important pieces to put together a success story: money could buy connections, money could even buy jobs!

I had planned on going to law school. I had even been accepted into Bevelle University Law School. But by the time I was done with undergrad, I was suddenly disillusioned by the legal profession and realized that my only real hopes of getting a job in the legal field without the proper connections was to go back to Bikanel and use my father's connections. And while this was _exactly_ what my father was hoping I would do, by the time I graduated, I decided to take the plunge and instead go to Luca.

And as I was sitting across the table from Baralai, eating a fifty-dollar steak. Despite the awkwardness of being with Baralai again, I decided I'd made the right choice.

Luca was an adventure. That much I was sure of.

And after lunch, what happened next only confirmed that.

"So, I kind of have a little flat here in the city," Baralai said as he paid the bill. "What do you say we hop over there and have a little party?"

"Um, okay…" I said. "Will Yuna be there?"

"Rikku, Rikku," Baralai said, again looking at me as though I was only a child. He put his arm comfortably around me. "Yuna and I tend to, well, live separate lives."

"Oh," I said. I suddenly felt as though I should try to get out of this. But Baralai's arm was still around me and he was ushering me to a parking garage and eventually into his car.

And before long, we were suddenly zipping through the city in Baralai's custom-made Porsche.

Baralai suddenly turned sharply down a street though, and the city instantly seemed dimmer. It was almost as though the sun was no longer shining, but I realized that the buildings were just suddenly so scrunched and tight and tall that they were blocking the sun from the street. I knew without asking that we were in an older part of the city.

Baralai pulled up to a full-service gas station, but when I glanced at his fuel gauge, I noticed his tank was almost full. Still, a tall man with smudged glasses and dark brown hair came out.

"Well hello there," the man said, and he began to fill the car. "How are you doing today, Mr. Baralai?"

"Doing well, Nooj. Yourself?"

"Can't complain," the man—Nooj—said. "Business has been a little slow, though."

"Oh yeah?" Baralai asked, but Baralai wasn't looking at Nooj, who was now standing by the tank. I followed Baralai's gaze and noticed he was looking into the small, rather rundown garage where a woman was standing. She waved at him and he gave her a nod.

"Your tank was mostly full," Nooj said then, closing the lid to the tank.

"You know how I am, Nooj," Baralai said. "I like to keep it full at all times. How much do I owe you?"

Baralai paid Nooj and then he headed off, driving quickly right back into the city where we had come from.

"Um… what was that all about?" I asked, despite the fact that the wind whipping around us made it difficult to communicate.

"Hm? Oh, that's just Leblanc. She'll get guests together for our party."

"Oh," I said.

To be honest, I had always gotten the wrong sort of idea when it came to Baralai. When I had first arrived at Bevelle U, frightened to death because it was the first time I'd ever left home, Baralai was assigned as my "peer advisor"—meaning that me and five other poly sci major hopefuls were put into a group with him as our leader. He showed us around and answered questions for us and his smile was the first thing that assured me that I had made the right choice by leaving home and going to such a prestigious school—even if I _was_ just a scholarship student.

Four years later, and especially now that Baralai was married to my cousin, it was hard for me to admit, but I had honestly been quite smitten by him from the very beginning. And even now, as I rode beside him toward his flat in the city, I was having a hard time remembering _why_ I was no longer smitten with him and why I _should_ no longer be smitten with him.

It was almost as though my head was in a cloud, and despite being used to the heat in Bikanel, the heat in Luca was a different sort of hot. The humidity was almost smothering.

So even though it was obvious what was happening before me, I was having a difficult time _understanding_. I felt just as I had when I was an eighteen-year-old, fresh out of high school, riding in Baralai's sharp car for the first time.

Eventually we reached an exquisite looking building (if I was one to admire architecture, this was certainly a building I would admire) and Baralai led me inside. We went into an elevator to the fifth floor, where we then walked into a spacious apartment.

"This is lovely," I said, looking outside and admiring the view of the city.

"I'm rather fond of it," Baralai said and he looked at his watch. "The guests should be here soon. Leblanc invited her brothers, Ormi and Logos. I think you'll find them to be… charming."

The smile on Baralai's face suggested he had just told a joke.

There was a knock on the door then and when Baralai answered, three men came in dragging carts of alcohol. I felt my eyes widen as I watched the most expensive brands of alcohol being brought in. Baralai wasn't kidding when he said we were having a party.

There was another knock at the door then, and this time Baralai went and opened it. There stood Leblanc, and she smiled widely. I waited for Baralai to introduce her to me and to explain how he knew her, but he suddenly pulled her in and… began to kiss her.

I stood there, awkwardly, unable to tear my eyes away from them despite wanting desperately to do so. I suddenly felt a bit as I had my freshman year—Baralai would never choose me.

But that thought was instantly replaced with another one—how would I ever tell Yuna what was happening!

The two broke for air and then Leblanc walked away, barely giving me a glance. She disappeared into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

Baralai looked at me, looking out of breath and dazed.

"Uh, you see, Rikku…" he said, brushing his hair back. "But I mean, Yuna knows. She does."

"Oh," I said. Did Yuna know? She must. Gippal had known, after all. But Gippal was Baralai's best friend, wasn't he?

There was yet another knock on the door and people began to come in, one after the other, almost as if they had been lined up at the door waiting for Leblanc to arrive so the party could start. I was introduced to Leblanc's brothers (neither of whom were the least bit attractive, but I attempted to carry conversation with them).

Music seemed to come out of nowhere and I was handed a drink. I saw Leblanc a little later, wearing a much different outfit than the outfit she had arrived in. She was standing by Baralai, and the two were laughing with some of the other guests.

"So, how do you know Baralai?" Leblanc's tall, thin brother was asking me.

"Oh, um, I knew him in college," I answered. I decided not to mention that I was also related to Baralai's wife.

"They're completely in love," the shorter brother said (I could not keep their names straight if I had wanted to). "Unfortunately, there's the issue of his wife."

"Y-You know about his wife?" I asked, feeling stunned.

"Yes. But don't worry, someday he will divorce her… but, you know, she's a follower of Yevon. And always in the public eye. And, well, she doesn't believe in divorce."

"Who?" the short one asked.

"His wife, you numskull."

I looked over at Baralai and Leblanc. It was true, Jonna's father had been a Maester of Yevon, after all. But I highly doubted that had anything to do with whether or not Yuna would seek a divorce. Did she know? Did she not know?

I suddenly felt terrible.

"Um, Baralai," I said, walking up to him. "I, um, I think I'm going to go."

"No, no, stay!" Baralai said, giving me a huge smile and handing me another drink. "Come on, live a little, Rikku!"

I tried to explain to Baralai that I _really_ needed to go, but he simply turned back to Leblanc, ignoring me entirely. I walked over to the window again and looked out. I had no idea how to get to a subway station. I had no idea to get back home. I sighed and tried to remember how much cash I had. It looked like I'd be taking a taxi.

There was suddenly commotion, though as I heard something break. It seemed as if everything suddenly went silent. Leblanc suddenly stomped into the room from the bedroom, screaming something at the top of her lungs. I'm not sure if it was the alcohol that I'd consumed or the fact that Leblanc was literally shrieking, but it took me a while before I realized she was screaming "Yuna" over and over and over.

"See, I'll say her name whenever I want!" Leblanc said in a strange, taunting manner. "Yuna! Yuna! Yuna!"

And then, as if without thought, Baralai smacked her hard across the face, causing her nose to run blood.

I felt my mouth fall open. I had seen Baralai in plenty of different situations, but I had never seen him strike anyone.

He immediately turned apologetic and took Leblanc into his arms, which, to my surprise, Leblanc willingly fell into. She sobbed on his shoulder and I watched as Baralai carefully shifted himself so that no blood would get on his nice suit.

Then, Baralai exclaimed that the party was over and that everybody should leave. And, just like that, everybody did leave, except for me, because I didn't know where to go.

"Come on, Leblanc, I'll take you home," Baralai said, and he nodded at me to follow.

We rode in silence, me in the backseat. Baralai pulled up down the block from Nooj's garage and then kissed Leblanc.

"I'll see you next week, okay?" he said, kissing her again. She smiled at him and left the car.

"You moving up front?" Baralai asked me.

By this point, I didn't want to be anywhere near him, but feeling that it would be rude not to, I stepped out of the car and moved to the front seat.

"So, um, we still have that understanding, right?" Baralai asked. "Yuna doesn't need to know about any of this."

"But I thought you said she knew…"

"She does—I mean, she doesn't need to know I took you to that apartment. She doesn't need to know that this afternoon happened."

"Why did you take me, Baralai?" I asked.

"Because, Rikku, you're my friend. And I don't want to have any secrets from you."

Maybe it was the alcohol, but I almost told him that we had never really been friends. He had simply strung me along like some sort of lost puppy. I wanted to tell him that his charm over me had been broken long ago and I was no longer his puppet to control.

And yet, there I was, sitting in his car as he drove off to West Luca, wondering to myself whether or not I should tell Yuna.

* * *

It was early evening by the time I got home, and for the first time since I'd arrived at Luca, I was happy to be completely alone. I suddenly remembered how, only a few days ago, I had arrived at my lonely cottage and thought to myself how awful the summer was going to be if I had no friends. But now, sitting at my table eating a small, meager supper, I was wishing Yuna had never found out that I was in Luca.

There was suddenly a knock on my door, which frightened me, really. I hadn't managed to completely sober up and I didn't think I could handle it if Yuna was at my door demanding to know what had happened that afternoon.

I stood up, feeling rather shaky, and made my way to the door. Standing outside was a tall, formally dressed man whom I had never seen before.

"Miss Rikku, correct?" he asked me, bowing slightly as though I was someone of importance.

"Erm, yes?"

"Mr. Tidus from next door has requested your presence at his party tomorrow night."

Tidus? It took me a second, but I realized that was the name Gippal had told me about the day before—that was my neighbor.

But why would he invite _me_ to his parties? Was he just being a nice neighbor?

The man at the door cleared his throat and I realized he was waiting for me to take an invitation that he had held out. I took it from him and he bowed at me again, making me feel as though I should curtsey, but I wasn't wearing a skirt.

"Thank you," I muttered. I watched as the man strutted off across the grass towards the large mansion that was next door. Feeling confused, I shut my door and made my way back to my table.

I opened the envelope and found a very simple invitation, saying only that I was cordially invited to a party hosted by Tidus. There was no date, no time, and no address, but I felt as though I already knew those details. Maybe everybody did.

My first instinct, though, was to tear the invitation up and not go to the party at all. After all, I needed a day of calmness. But, I had just decided that maybe I needed new friends, hadn't I?

So, feeling strangely excited, I decided that indeed, I would go to Tidus' party.

* * *

**P.S. I hope you're all as excited as I am for the next chapter! I can't wait for you all to meet the mysterious "Mr. Tidus!"**


	4. IV: Tidus

**Hi everybody!** For once in my life, I don't have much to say before this chapter (haha). Again, it follows _Gatsby_ pretty quickly-although, and it does hurt me to say this, Tidus does not refer to Rikku as "old sport." (Haha) Also, I meant to have this up yesterday but was acting up. Anyway, ENJOY!

* * *

**IV: Tidus**

I was surprised to have my job the next day. People glanced at me in an odd way as I walked to my small, cramped cubicle (I was certain it had been used for storage before my arrival and only some room had been cleared for me) and it wasn't until I heard a bit of whispered gossip by my new co-workers that I realized they all knew Baralai had excused me the afternoon before.

And I knew without inquiring that they all had their own suspicions of _why_ Baralai had excused me.

So, with blazing cheeks, I attempted to work through my dull to-do list of entering attorney hours into the pay system. Then, when lunch hit, I decided to play it safe and eat my lunch quietly in the break room. At least the air conditioning seemed to work better in the break room than at my cubicle.

My thoughts were so troubled, though, that I was finding it difficult to do my work. I knew that I should tell Yuna about what I had experienced and seen the afternoon before. But how I could I do that? I looked at the small, outdated phone that was hanging just slightly outside of my ragged handbag and pursed my lips thoughtfully.

Instead of typing in attorney names and numbers, I pulled open a document in Word and began typing out "pros" and "cons" to telling Yuna about Baralai.

Unfortunately, the only "pro" I could come up with was "Because it's the right thing to do" and the only "con" I could conjure was "Because it's the right thing _not_ to tell her?"

I sighed and x-ed out of Word.

The answer to my predicament, I decided as I turned back to my task at hand of typing out names and hours, was to wait until I was with Yuna again. Then, I would determined by the mood of our conversation whether I should say something. Yes. That was it. It would be rude of me to tell her by phone anyhow.

Feeling content with that decision, I managed to make it through my first full day of work.

* * *

Even though it was against my better judgments, I stopped at the mall on my way home. I browsed through the sales racks, looking for something that suggested I had money without the high price tag. I just hoped Tidus' guests wouldn't realize that my entire outfit was last-season chic.

As I paid for the new outfit (which _still_ cost more than I usually spent on clothes), I couldn't help but wonder what I was doing. I had only been in Luca now for a few days and already I seemed to be spending far more money than I had originally expected to spend—and on what? Fancy dinners and fancy outfits. Who was I trying to impress?

Feeling a bit of buyer's remorse, I made it back to my small cottage (I stopped momentarily and tried to decide whether it could at least be described as "cute," but the reality was, the cottage was in a state of disrepair) and changed into my new outfit. I examined myself in the mirror, wondering if I looked like a bona fide Lucan. I figured anyone who knew anything would be able to see right through me.

I waited until dark, sitting out on my porch, staring off toward the neighbor's. If I squinted and listened hard enough, I could see people setting out tables and chairs and food and drinks. I even heard what sounded like a band warming up.

I couldn't help but smile to myself. I enjoyed a good party here and there, but it had been such a long time since I'd really let myself go. My smile faded slightly. I supposed it had to do with what had happened shortly after my freshman year of college.

Closing my eyes, I leaned back in the chair I was sitting on. Had it really been _that_ long ago since I'd _really_ partied?

I suppose I was a typical college student—I went away from home and suddenly had a taste of freedom and wasn't sure what to do with it. So I went a bit overboard. But I was always with Baralai. I reopened my eyes and took a deep breath. Had Baralai ever been my friend? Was Baralai my friend now?

Or had he just played me the way he played every other female he came in contact with?

But he was Yuna's now. I thought back to when I had received the invitation to their wedding. There was no denying that I had felt a twinge of jealousy when I had realized Yuna was marrying Baralai. But I wasn't so sure I felt jealous anymore. I thought of the sadness in Yuna's eyes and the strange, defeated look she had whenever anyone mentioned Baralai in her presence. And then I suddenly saw the blood that was dripping from Leblanc's nose and the way she had still crawled into Baralai's arms…

I was drifting asleep when there was suddenly a loud blare of music. My eyes flashed open and I looked across the lawn towards my neighbor's. The party had apparently begun.

Feeling it was too strange to creep across the freshly-cut lawn that led to my neighbor's, I instead took the longer route of walking along the road and eventually through the gate. Cars passed me, driving quickly and recklessly and there was a buzz of excitement in the air that I hadn't felt in a long, long time.

It was almost impossible not to smile as people brushed past me, shrieking with laughter and wearing smiles as bright as the moon that was rising above.

Standing along the path to the mansion were men dressed in service suits, standing straight and at attention. I walked up to the nearest man and pulled the invitation from my flea-market clutch.

"Hello," I said. "Do I need to show anyone my invitation?"

Someone bumped me from behind and gave me an incredulous look.

"I don't have one of these!" he said, sounding upset. I smelled alcohol on his breath and knew that he must have arrived drunk.

"Me neither!" his companion said, also looking at my invitation.

"So you don't need to be invited to come to one of these parties?" I questioned.

"I've never been," the man said. He took his companion by the hand then and they took off, running, no longer on the path but instead across the lawn.

I tucked the invitation away and followed the crowd up to the house, where I found music, food, and drinks. People were swarming around everywhere and I actually felt a bit claustrophobic. I couldn't recall a time I had been in the middle of so many people!

I suddenly felt someone take my shoulder in a gentle manner and when I spun around, I saw none other than Gippal standing there, giving me a grin.

"Well look who wandered on over!" he said—or rather, shouted—"How's it going, Rikku?"

I felt so elated to see a familiar face that I forgot about my concerns with Gippal's, well, blitzball playing.

"I'm doing great!" I chirped. "You didn't tell me you were coming tonight!"

"I don't have you number," Gippal said and he casually put his arm around my shoulder. I hoped he didn't feel me shudder at his touch.

He pulled me over to the drinks and grabbed one for me and then himself.

"My whole team's here," he explained to me, bending so that his mouth was close to my ear. "You wanna meet them?"

Meet the Luca Goers?

I simply nodded.

Gippal kept his arm around my shoulder and led me over to a group of guys who were shotgunning beer.

"Hey guys!" he yelled at them. "This is my friend Rikku."

The guys just looked at me and started to laugh.

"They're not all that friendly," Gippal said, directing me away from them.

"I can't believe how many people are here!" I said. I took a sip of my drink, suddenly feeling a bit nervous.

"It's wild, isn't it?" Gippal said, shaking his head with a sort of incredulous look on his face. "And no one ever sees the host."

"Really?" I asked, realizing that I had forgotten to look for this mysterious Tidus fellow. Not that I would know him if I saw him…

"Yeah," Gippal said, tightening his grip on me and leaning close again. "They say he killed a man, you know."

"That's ridiculous!" I said.

"They say he killed a man and took all his money and that's how he got this huge place!"

"How would he just take that much money?" I questioned. Gippal just laughed and handed me another drink.

"Are you guys talking about Tidus?" a lady said, her eyes shining with a glossiness that only alcohol could cause. "I heard he's the son of the man who shot Lord Braska!"

Both Gippal and I felt our smiles fade at this and the lady must have thought our reactions to be too intense, for she turned quickly away.

"Do you think that's true?" I asked, spinning so I was facing Gippal.

"I don't know," Gippal said, shrugging. "But isn't that guy rotting away in prison?"

I swallowed and nodded.

"Don't listen to her," a man suddenly said, walking over to us, shaking his head. "Everyone knows Tidus is a drug smuggler. That's all. He smuggles them in from the Al Bhed territory."

"Is that so?" Gippal asked, looking offended. "And all drugs come from Al Bhed territory, I suppose?"

"Well, yeah," the man said, shrugging. "Ev'ron knows that."

Gippal rolled his eyes and me and said, "Everyone knows the real drugs come from Kilika."

Well, I hadn't known that.

"Either way, he's a drug smuggler," the man said. "I heard it from my cousin, whose best friend is a distant relative of Tidus'."

"Whatever," Gippal just said. He turned to me then, and took my hand in his. I felt as though we were both at that point where the alcohol was just making us feel happy—as though nothing could ever go wrong. "Let's go find him."

"Find Tidus?" I asked.

"Yes," he said, and with that, he led me off towards the mansion that towered over us. He led me into the open verandah and then into the house. The house was surprisingly quiet, although there were people about here and there.

We wandered through the house, bumping into interesting sorts of people here and there. But there was no sign of Tidus.

"What does he look like?" I asked, my voice low in case any of the men about happened to be Tidus. I even stopped in my tracks and gave Gippal a suspicious look. "Are _you_ actually Tidus?"

"Ha," Gippal just retorted. "And I guess I have no idea what he looks like!"

Laughing for no reason, Gippal and I made our ways back outside and back to the table boasting the largest collection of champagne I had ever seen. Gippal took a bottle and popped it and drank straight from it before handing it to me. I hated the taste of champagne, but I didn't want to be a bore, so I drank it as well.

"Look at those people in the fountain!" Gippal said, spinning around and pointing towards one of three large fountains on the property. Sure enough, people were running through it, splashing around. I couldn't help but wonder how the people were so careless as to destroy their outfits which must have cost more than the out-of-season outfit I was wearing.

"I'm going to join them," Gippal said, and before I could stop him, he took off his shirt and handed it to me. I took it only because he wasn't suggesting I take it—he was dropping it right into my arms. I held the shirt to my chest as I watched him take off at full speed.

I was suddenly aware of a presence at my side and I heard a male's voice say, "Is he your boyfriend?"

"Hm?" I said, turning my head just slightly to show that I was listening. I didn't look at the speaker. "Oh, no. He's just a friend. Honestly, just an acquaintance."

"He's familiar."

"He's the famous blitzball player. Gippal."

The man next to me made a strange sound, as though he was about to say something but my words had silenced him so quickly that the words he was about to utter crawled right back between his lips where they had come. And then, he began to cough, as though he choked on those words as they crept back to his throat.

It was then that I turned to face him, and I saw a man with blonde hair standing there, trying to regain himself. While I will not boast to know much about men's suits, this man's suit was so impressive that I just _knew_ it was expensive. He stopped coughing when he saw that I was looking at him and he brushed his hair back with his hand. I noticed he was leaning casually against a cane.

"How do you know him?" he asked me.

"My cousin is friends with him," I said with a small shrug. "He's one of the only people I know here."

"Are you new to the area? Where do you live?"

"Oh, right over in that cabin," I said, momentarily forgetting my embarrassment at living in such shambles.

The man's face suddenly lit into a smile.

"It's nice to meet you!" he said, taking my hand in a shake in an overly eager way. "I've been wanting to meet you!"

"Me?" I said. "Why?"

He made a strange face, as though he didn't understand my question. Then, he cocked his head slightly to the side and he said, "I'm your neighbor."

I felt my face fall and my eyes open wide.

"Y-You're Tidus?" I cried.

"Yes. I'm sorry, I thought you knew."

I was about to say that I didn't know—that _no one_ seemed to know—but at that moment one of the servants walked up to us and said, "Pardon, Tidus, but Zanarkand is calling."

"Oh, yes, of course," he said. He turned to me and gave me a small, polite bow. "It was nice to meet you…?"

"Rikku," I said.

"Rikku. If there's anything you need—anything at all—please let me know!" He was about to follow the servant back to the house, but he stopped and said, "Would you be interested in joining me for brunch tomorrow?"

"Oh, I have to work," I said, giving him an apologetic shrug.

"Lunch then?" he asked. "Where's your office?"

I told him quickly and he told me he wanted to meet me at the same place Baralai had taken me the day before.

I wanted to tell him that I couldn't afford such a place, but I decided I could pull out my credit card (that I only used for emergencies) if necessary. I told him I would join him at noon.

"I look forward to it," he said, smiling at me and waving as he walked away. He walked well, but I couldn't help but notice he was using the cane for support. I wondered what would have caused such a young man to find it necessary to walk with a cane. He couldn't have been more than two or three years older than me.

At that moment, I heard Gippal running up to me.

"Hey," he said, sounding out of breath. "Who's your friend?"

"Tidus!" I said, spinning around excitedly to point him out to Gippal, but he had disappeared into the crowd.

"Aw man," Gippal said, taking his shirt from me and slinging it on over his head. "I miss out on all the good stuff. What'd he say? Did you ask him it was true that he killed a man?"

"I get the feeling that he didn't," I said, confidently. He seemed far too likable to have killed someone.

Gippal gave me a small, half-smile, and said, "You like him."

"No," I said, quickly, but I felt my cheeks heating.

"Yeah you do," Gippal said, laughing and leading the way back to the party.

"I don't!" I cried. But my head was spinning. Partly because of Gippal's teasing, partly from admiring Gippal's nicely carved muscles, and partly because, well, because Tidus had been more attractive than I would have originally imagined.

Gippal suddenly stopped by one of the bars and said, "It'll be hard for me to compete against a guy like that…"

I wasn't sure what Gippal meant by that. Was he comparing himself to Tidus on a general manner, as though he wouldn't be able to get female attention because Tidus was better? Or did he mean he wouldn't be able to compete with Tidus for… me?

My cheeks were absolutely burning.

Gippal just laughed, though, and handed me another drink.

"Wanna dance?" he asked me, and I was just about to answer that I would love to dance with him when a man suddenly appeared at our side.

"Mr. Gippal?" the man said.

"Huh?" Gippal answered. He was obviously a bit intoxicated.

"Mr. Tidus would like to speak with you, if that's okay with you."

Gippal gave me a strange look and then said, "Are you sure it's not _Rikku_ he wants to talk to?" He pointed at me in an almost accusatory manner.

The man looked at me, but then looked back at Gippal and said, "No. He would like to speak with you. Alone."

* * *

I spent the rest of the night toiling about, waiting for Gippal. I tried to dance around and make friends, but my eyes were continually going back to the mansion, looking for some sign of Gippal. I wasn't sure why, but I felt a little worried for him.

And a bit jealous.

Which was ridiculous, because I realized I didn't know if I was jealous and upset that Tidus had taken Gippal way from me just before we were about to dance or if I was jealous that Gippal was the one that got called into see Tidus and not me…

I ended up sitting on one of the stone steps that led up to Tidus' giant mansion and watched the party before me. It was a lovely night, but no one (other than perhaps those who had taken a frolic through the fountain) seemed to spend any thought on how nice of a night it was. I looked up at the sky and watched as the starts twinkled, my vision blurring just slightly.

It felt as though I had been sitting on that hard, cold step for hours when Gippal suddenly ran up to me and took a seat beside me.

"You are not going to believe what I just found out," he said, his eyes full of seriousness. He had been a bit drunk when he had disappeared behind the mahagony doors of Tidus' mansion, but now he appeared to be quite sober. His mouth was open wide in a sort of boyish amazement, as though he had just seen something for the first time.

"What?" I asked, my eyes widening as well. Had Tidus really killed a man?

But Gippal suddenly gave me a strange look as though he had forgotten that he had said anything to me at all.

"Oh… I, um, I'm not supposed to say," he said then, giving me a sheepish shrug. "Sorry."

He stood up then and started away. I looked around and realized that most of the guests had disappeared and there was a very slight ray of sunlight shining from the east side. Had I really been at this party all night?

"Gippal, wait!" I cried, running after him. "You're honestly not going to tell me?"

"You'll find out eventually, don't worry. He said you're having lunch with him tomorrow."

"Is it safe for me to do so?" I asked before I even registered what it was I was saying.

Gippal laughed and said, "Yes. Well, I mean, as far as I know, yes. I'll see you around, okay?"

I nodded as was about to let him leave, feeling a little disappointed with how the night had ended. But Gippal suddenly stopped and turned to face me again.

"Hey, can I get your number?" he asked.

Beaming, we quickly exchanged numbers, and just as he was about to walk off again, he stopped, turned around, and gave me a quick hug.

"See you around, Rikku," he said, winking as he did so.

I watched him go and let out a long sigh. I knew as I trudged back to my cabin that I would be worthless at work, which started in a mere three hours.


	5. V Rin

Sorry for taking so long to update! I made the decision to switch from Rikku's POV to Yuna's POV after chapter VI (mostly to force myself to get away from following _Gatsby_ too much) and it's been a struggle! Hopefully I can keep it up... it's just funny how much harder this story is to envision when I'm deviating from _Gatsby_. But, for now (and the next chapter), enjoy some more Rikku POV! :D

* * *

**V. Rin**

I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew a phone was ringing somewhere. I sat up quickly, trying not to feel disgusted as a string of drool went from my mouth to my arm.

"Ew," I whispered to myself as I grabbed a tissue. I then realized that I was in my cubicle. It was only my third day of work and I had just fallen asleep at my desk.

I glanced around to see if there was any sign that someone had seen me but of course that was impossible to tell. I flipped through my e-mails, praying I wouldn't find one that told me I could see my way out the door.

Everything seemed in order, though. A quick glance at the clock confirmed that I hadn't been asleep for long.

I let out a loud sigh and attempted to get back to work. I wasn't sure I had ever been as tired as I was. The only good thing about being so tired, however, was the fact that I was too exhausted to let my mind run.

And I had plenty to think about.

First of all, there was the fact that Gippal had been texting me. He must have never gone to sleep. Before taking my little nap, I'd found myself trying to text under my desk, hiding the fact that I was on my phone and not working diligently. He wanted me to come to his next game and then go out with him afterwards. I was more than flattered.

Second of all, there was the issue of Tidus. Was I really going to lunch with him? Another quick glance at the clock told me it was fifteen minutes past ten. I supposed at the very least I would show up and see if he was there.

Unfortunately, I looked like I mess. I'd been able to sober up during the hour of sleep I'd managed but I was feeling a bit nauseous. I had taken a shower, combed my hair, thrown on my comfiest work outfit (and the cheapest one I owned—I hoped no one could tell the butt area was almost completely worn through) and made my way to work only five minutes late. Still, I was continuing a pattern of doing anything but creating a good impression my first week.

I straightened myself out, stood up and grabbed another cup of coffee (I was on my third) and made my way back to my desk, ignoring the looks the paralegals gave me. I could hear them snickering and I knew it had something to do with my name and the words "hung over." I put my fingers on my keyboard and told myself that if they knew I had spent the night partying with _Gippal_, that snickering might quiet up.

My phone buzzed and I felt a little smirk form on my lips. I knew without looking that I had received yet another text from Gippal.

* * *

I wandered outside at lunch, feeling completely uncertain. Was I supposed to meet Tidus at the restaurant? Before I could make up my mind as to what I was going to do, I suddenly heard a loud, shrieking sort of honk, the sort of honk that attracts attention from anyone who hears it. I turned toward the sound, only to see Tidus sitting in a car unlike any I had seen before. Unlike all of the brand new cars that dotted the streets of Luca, Tidus' car was certainly vintage. The top was down and he waved at me to come over when he saw me looking at him.

By far the most distinguishing thing about Tidus' car, though, other than the vintage look, was the fact that it was painted a mustard-yellow.

"Hey," I said, walking over to him, feeling a little self-conscious because _everyone_ was looking at him. He seemed to be basking in the attention, though. Honestly, it was even as though the sun rays were shining on him like a spotlight. His sunglasses (which bore the same logo that Yuna's had) seemed to glisten as he looked up at me, a calm, cool smile on his face.

"Hop in," he said.

"I thought we were just going to the place down there?" I asked.

"We are. But you shouldn't have to walk."

I thought that was a little odd, but I shrugged it off and walked over to the passenger seat, crawling in quickly. My body seemed to sink into the leather seats. I couldn't ever recall sitting in a more comfortable automobile chair. I thought of the cheap upholstery in my grandfather's car and shuddered.

Tidus sped off then, taking off as though we needed to get somewhere very quickly. Then, he slowed and pulled over along the curb, right in front of the restaurant. He put the car in park.

Not wanting to be rude, but also worried he would get in trouble, I was quick to sputter, "Um, I don't think you're actually allowed to park here."

Tidus gave me a weird look—a rather _shocked_ look. Then, he turned the car off and pulled his keys out.

"I can, um, park wherever I want," he just said. The look he was giving me seemed to suggest that _anybody_ could park wherever they wanted and it had been foolish of me to say anything. I was going to ask him why he was so sure it was okay for him to park _anywhere_, but thought better of it.

We both climbed out of the car then.

"Do you like it?" Tidus asked me as I joined him on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. He was looking at me, and at first I wasn't sure what he meant, but somehow I just knew he was talking about the car—what else would he be talking about?

"Yes, it's a very nice car," I said.

"There were only three made like this in the world," he explained, patting the hood gently. "One crashed years ago and the other is in a museum."

"Aren't you worried about crashing this one?"

"Of course not," he answered. He grinned at me, then, a grin that was so boyish that it almost looked naïve.

"I hope you don't mind," he said then, just as we were about to walk into the restaurant, "that I'm also meeting with a friend. You'll like him."

I had no idea how Tidus would _know_ what I liked or didn't like, but I went ahead and followed him into the restaurant. We were immediately led to a table at the corner, where a gentleman was sitting. I recognized almost immediately that he was Al Bhed. His blonde hair could be seen from under a hate and was light, as though just about to gray, and his face was smooth and tan.

"Rikku, this is my good friend Mr. Rin," Tidus said.

The man looked up at me and smiled a wide, hearty smile.

"Is this the girl?" the man asked, his voice booming despite the fact that his body seemed so small and fragile.

Tidus instantly looked embarrassed and I felt a bit embarrassed too.

"No, no," Tidus said quickly.

"I-It's nice to meet you," I simply said.

"Have a seat," Tidus said then, pulling my chair out for me. I couldn't help but give him a surprised look—I hadn't had a man pull a chair out for me… ever.

"I got a call today from Bevelle," the man (he must have been about late-middle age; perhaps just turned fifty but hiding the fact nicely)—said to Tidus.

"Not now, Rin. Not in front of our guest," Tidus said, somewhat coolly.

"No, no, of course not," Rin said. "But, they have placed a call."

Tidus suddenly stood up very quickly, almost in a clumsy way. He gathered himself, though, turned to me, smiled, and said, "I'll be right back."

He walked away quickly, then, and I watched him leave, wondering what was so important that he had to walk away to as quickly as he had driven.

"So, Rikku was it?" Rin said, turning his attention to me. "Are you looking for a business connection?"

"Um… I, um, I work at the law firm just down there," I said, feeling a bit nervous as I pointed in the direction of my office.

"Oh. No interest in making any money on the side?"

My interest was suddenly piqued. What sort of money on the side? Was Tidus involved in some sort of schemes?

My mind ran fast as I tried to think of a way to get some information out of this Rin about Tidus.

"No, not me," I said, answering his question quickly. "Um, how long have you known Tidus?"

"Tidus? Oh, I've known him since the accident."

"Accident?" I said, turning to look in the direction Tidus had disappeared. "Is that why he walks with a cane?"

"Such a sad story, isn't it?"

I opened my mouth to ask what the story was, but at that moment, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw that Tidus had returned. He smiled broadly at me and then took his seat.

"What are you two talking about?" he asked.

Afraid that Rin would tell him that we were, well, talking about him, I quickly answered, "Nothing much. Rin offered me a business deal."

"Rin, this isn't the person I was telling you about!" Tidus said, sounding exasperated.

Rin just laughed and said, "I realized that. Well, I'll let you two kids be."

Tidus began to protest, but Rin immediately silenced him.

"You two can talk about what young people talk about. I will only bore you." He tilted his hat towards me then, and said, "I'll talk to you later, Tidus. Have a good day, both of you."

"It was nice to meet you," I half-muttered, half-said as he walked away.

I turned to Tidus, then, who was looking at me with a strange sort of smile.

"Who is he?" I asked.

Tidus straightened out and said, "He's the man who fixed the chocobo races a few years ago."

At first, I thought Tidus was joking. I thought back—it was about three years ago—when the least-picked chocobo won the race. I remembered it because both my father and brother had bet on the races and had lost—quite a bit.

"Wait, he _fixed_ that race?"

"Mm-hm," Tidus said, nodding.

"But how?"

"What do you mean, how?"

"How did he do it?"

"No one knows," Tidus said, shaking his head.

"Why hasn't he been caught?"

Tidus looked surprised that I had asked that question.

"They can't catch him," Tidus said, surely. "He's too smart."

At that moment, our waiter came. Tidus ordered the most expensive thing on the menu and then ordered the same for me before I could utter a word.

"I hope you were okay with the special," Tidus said as the waiter walked away.

"Um, I am, but, I, um, I can't afford it."

Again, that same, childlike look of shock was on Tidus' face.

"I'll pay, of course!" he said. Then, his eyes suddenly noticeably darkened and I realized he was looking behind me. I turned to follow his gaze and saw that none other than Baralai had just walked in.

I turned back to face Tidus (mostly because I was hoping Baralai wouldn't notice me with my back to him) but Tidus was no longer looking at me or Baralai—he was instead looking at his phone, which he had pulled out.

"Rikku!" I suddenly heard a voice say and I wondered if Tidus saw my roll my eyes. But instead, Tidus was looking past me again, at Baralai. There was a strange, unexplainable expression on Tidus' face.

Tidus had always appeared completely amicable, as though he was friendly to everybody. But there was undoubtedly a look of hatred shining in his crystal eyes as Baralai came over to us.

"Hey Baralai," I said, forcing a smile and standing up to hug him. "This is Tidus."

I suppose I had expected from the look on Tidus' face that they knew each other. But Baralai barely glanced at him. Still, Baralai said a polite 'hello' and then turned his attention back to me.

"Yuna's upset that you haven't called," he said. "Where've you been hiding out at?"

I laughed lightly and said, "I just saw her last weekend! I've been working, you know."

"Still? Just quit and come babysit Yuna. I'll pay you."

"She doesn't need babysitting!" I said, my voice joking even though Baralai didn't seem to be joking. I glanced back over at Tidus and noticed that he was turned back to his phone, but he was gripping his phone so tightly that his knuckles were white.

"Well, give her a call, okay? I gotta go, but I hope to see you soon!" Baralai gave me another quick hug, and then walked away to another room.

I turned back to Tidus and slowly sat down.

"Um, do you know him at all?" I asked, slowly and cautiously.

"No, not at all," Tidus said, looking so much happier than he had when Baralai was in the room that I knew immediately his smile was fake.

The mood after that was different. We ate mostly in silence, with Tidus asking me now and then about myself—where I was from, where I went to school, what I was doing in Luca. I found myself not asking similar questions of Tidus. Somehow, I felt as though the subject was taboo.

When we were finished, Tidus paid, and we walked out. His car was still there, untouched, as though it was perfectly legal to park where he had.

"Do you have time to just take a quick drive with me?" Tidus asked. I didn't. I really didn't. But I could tell by the way he was looking at me that he really hoped I said yes. And, because I was curious, I agreed.

We climbed back into his car and he sped off again, darting down the main road.

"I want to tell you about myself," he said, facing not the road but me. "And you see, I'm a bit nervous about it, because I like to keep to myself and I hardly ever tell anyone anything about me. Driving calms me, you see."

"Why me?" I heard myself ask before I could ask whether or not it was a polite thing to ask.

"Why you?" There was that boyhood shock on his face again. "Well, because. Your opinion matters very much to me."

But why me? Why would _my_ opinon matter? For all intensive purposes, Tidus and I were complete strangers!

"I was a blitzball player," Tidus said. "A very good one. Better than your friend Gippal, that's for sure." Tidus seemed to sneer Gippal's name. "I'm from Zanarkand, you see. I was born to incredibly wealthy folk, my money going back years and years and years. Sadly my entire family is dead now. I inherited all of their money, you see. Blitzball was, I suppose, really only a hobby. I played for the best junior team in Zanarkand—and then, eventually, I played for the Zanarkand Abes.

"I had everything, you see, and I was an up and coming blitzball player. But then the accident happened!"

The wind was whipping around us so much that Tidus had to yell when he spoke, which only seemed to add to the dramatics.

"It was the first game of my second season with the team. I was about to attempt what I was sure was going to become my signature shot—I was going to call it—well, it doesn't matter now. Everything went wrong. And my knee…" Tidus looked down and patted his right knee. "I tore every ligament in it."

I felt myself cringe despite myself.

"They said I'd never play again…" Tidus said. He suddenly looked sad. "And they were right.

"Without blitzball, I didn't know what to do. So I wandered here and there, looking for something… and then, you see," he turned to me when he said "you see", "something very tragic happened to me. Something more tragic than losing my ability to play blitzball. And so… well… I spent time trying to forget."

I nodded as though I was following, but it was hard to focus when I was still wondering why he was telling me this.

"So eventually I came here. But I couldn't forget."

He stopped then—literally stopped his car, being that we were at a red light—and said, "But I think my luck is finally about to change."

The light turned green and he took off again. Then, just as though we had never been gone, we were suddenly right back on the curb by my office, where I had first found him.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked again.

"Because, I told you, I don't want you to think poorly of me. I'm sure you've heard the rumors."

I nodded slowly and then looked at him.

"So it's not true that you're the son of the man who assassinated Lord Braska?"

This caused Tidus to look very shocked and sad. His crystal eyes almost looked as though they had a layer of tears over them.

"Of course not," he said. "That was a tragedy of epic proportions."

"Did you know Lord Braska?" I asked.

Tidus suddenly gave me a look as though he was confused about something. There was a line shooting between his eyebrows and I had a sort of uneasy feeling that he wanted to tell me something but wasn't sure if he should.

Finally, he shook his head and said, "No. I never knew him. But I've known people who Lord Braska was very important to."

"He was my uncle," I admitted.

If this surprised Tidus, he said nothing or showed no signs of it. Instead, he pressed his lips together and bowed his head slightly.

But when he looked back up at me, there was a strange sparkle in his eyes that I had not noticed before, almost as though he considered me to be some sort of lost treasure that he had just discovered, or perhaps a final piece of a puzzle that he had been unable to locate.

Until now.

"We should have lunch together again," he said then, putting on one of his dazzling smiles—a type of smile that so few people seem to possess—one that seems so reassuring.

"Yes, we should," I said, crawling out of the car. "Thank you for lunch today. Perhaps next time I can pay."

"Don't worry about it," Tidus said, smiling even wider. "I've got more money than I know what to do with." Then, he sped off, honking at me and waving.


	6. VI: Tidus & Yuna

Sorry I haven't been updating as frequently. I've probably said this a million times (or not?) but I've decided to switch to Yuna's POV... right after this chapter! And writing in Yuna's POV has been harder than I was initially expecting since now I can't just follow _Gatsby_ and have to kind of make up my own stuff. But it's been fun. :)

I hope you enjoy!

* * *

VI: Tidus and Yuna

The next week followed without any sort of event. I went to lunch one day with Yuna (which, thank Yevon, was a much smaller affair than my previous lunches with her had been). I had waited for the perfect opportunity to speak with her about the status of her marriage with Baralai and how things were going, but she had found out that Gippal and I had been texting each other and that fact was the focus of our conversation.

"I knew he would fall in love eventually," Yuna had said.

"What makes you think he's in love with me?" I asked. "We've only texted back and forth a few times."

"I can just tell," Yuna had said with a sly smile.

As I left her that day, watching as she waved after me while I drove away, I couldn't help but feel guilty. I felt even guiltier when I passed Baralai on my way home and he flagged me to stop. He rolled down his window and yelled out, "How are ya, Rikku?"

"Good," I responded.

"Good, good… you haven't told Yuna about the other day, have you?"

"No, of course not."

"You're a good girl, Rikku."

I certainly didn't _feel_ like a "good girl."

There were actually times that I felt so angry with Baralai that I thought of telling Yuna out of spite. But the reality of the matter was, just how _do_ you tell someone that their husband is being unfaithful?

To distract me from thinking of Yuna, however, was a mixture of Gippal's flirtatious text messages and the fact that my neighbor liked to pay me a visit from time to time, usually arriving unannounced, tapping casually on my door with his cane.

"Hi Rikku!" he would always greet me, giving me a smile that suggested I was the greatest thing he had seen in a long while. "How are you today?"

We ate dinner together, one night out back on his dock (which was a masterpiece in itself). He had servants just as Yuna and Baralai did, and honestly, I was getting so used to being waited on that I no longer thought how odd it was that these people actually still had servants. I even accidentally found myself bossing the poor kitchen maid around when she brought my tea with lemon, despite the fact that I had specifically asked for _no_ lemon.

Tidus ate in such a formal manner that I felt like a child sitting across the table from him. He looked at the array of silverware that was spread out and tried to use the same utensil that he was using. Eventually I gave up and just kept using the same fork for everything. Tidus, luckily, didn't seem to mind.

"Do you like it out here?" he had asked me after we'd been eating in silence.

"Yes. Your place is gorgeous," I said.

This made him look very proud. He straightened out and continued to eat with a strange, smug sort of smile.

Dusk was falling upon us quickly and suddenly, across the bay, was a green light.

It wouldn't have been anything unusual—the light was, after all, just a light at the end of someone's dock—but upon seeing it, Tidus' head snapped in its direction. He stood up quickly and walked toward it.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, wondering why he was so entranced by it.

"Of course," he said, standing with one leg up on a rock as though he was on some sort of lookout. "I always watch for that light. Every night."

Tidus was odd. I had thought that since before I had met him—after all, who else throws ginormous parties for an entire city but never really introduces himself? Not that he could introduce himself to all of his guests. But I was already convinced that anyone as wealthy as he was, living all alone in such a place, had to be a bit eccentric.

"What is it?" I asked, deciding to casually ask about the light. How could some dock light be so _meaningful_ to somebody?

"What's what?" Tidus simply asked, and he made his way back to the table.

"The light," I said.

He had just taken a bite of his lamb, and he looked at me thoughtfully while he chewed. Then, he swallowed, smiled a small, careless sort of smile, and said, "What light?"

Frustrated, I ignored his question and kept eating.

* * *

It was a Friday when my phone buzzed, signaling yet another text from Gippal. While we texted throughout the day, Gippal never really seemed interested in meeting up. But this text was different. It said, "Hey, what are you doing after work?"

I quickly responded, "Nothing."

"Great. I'm going to pick you up."

Let's just say after that, the day certainly dragged.

When I was finally free for the weekend, I found Gippal parked where Tidus had been parked all those days ago. He honked at me even though I had seen him, and I went over to him, hoping the smile I was wearing wasn't too cheesy.

"Hey," I said, climbing into his gleaming convertible.

"Hey," he answered, and without saying anything more, he took off down the street.

I laughed and said, "Where are you taking me?"

"To dinner, of course," he answered.

He zipped off to what I was sure was yet another highly expensive restaurant. I felt myself lean back into the seat and wonder what I had done to deserve all the attention I was getting!

We made our way to the restaurant and were seated. The conversation was light, mostly about a blitzball game Gippal had played in the day before. Listening to him talk about blitzball actually made me feel a little, well, strange. Listening to him speak, it was as though nothing was amiss and he truly was Spira's greatest blitzball player. All I could think about, though, as he spoke, was how Tidus had said he was a better blitzball player than Gippal. And somehow, I figured that was true. After all, where would Gippal stand if he didn't cheat?

So, without even thinking, I semi-interrupted Gippal and said, "Did you know my neighbor was a blitzball player?"

At first Gippal looked a bit upset that I had interrupted his story about how he scored the third and final goal of the game, but when he registered what it was I had said, he suddenly didn't look so upset.

"Have you seen him lately?" he asked, ignoring my comment for the most part.

"Yeah, I had dinner with him the other night," I said. I wanted to add that it was a lovely dinner and Tidus was one of the most gentleman-ly men I had ever met, but I didn't want to make Gippal jealous or suspect that anything was going on between Tidus and I (especially because there _wasn't_ anything going on between us).

"Did you tell you anything interesting?" Gippal asked. He laughed slightly, then, and said, "Other than that he was a blitzball player."

"No, not really," I said. "I don't know why he was so interested in telling me everything he's told me though… it's like he wants my opinion on him, or something. But why would my opinion matter?"

Gippal was watching me carefully as I spoke, and his smile was growing wider and wider with every word I said.

I gave him a suspicious look and said, "What do you know that I don't?"

Gippal suddenly leaned across the table so that he was closer to me. His long arms were outstretched in front of him, and he was almost touching my hands, which were resting on the table.

"Tidus used to know Yuna," Gippal said. "A long, long time ago. And I used to know Tidus, too."

"You knew Tidus?" I said.

"Yeah. I had forgotten until I saw him. I thought he looked familiar, but I couldn't place him. You know what I mean?"

I nodded. I had felt the same with with Gippal when I had first met him.

"Anyway, when he wanted to talk to me that night at the party is when I remembered where I knew him from. I knew him from my junior blitz days. He's Yuna's age, you know—two years older than me. He played for a team in Zanarkand."

"That's what he told me, too," I said.

"Yeah, but I first saw him in Bevelle," Gippal said. "I was, I don't know, sixteen or seventeen, and I was on my way to blitzball practice. The practice facility was actually just a few blocks away from my house, so I was walking there. On my way, I saw Yuna. She was sitting in her car parked down the road a ways from her house. And she was with someone. She was with Tidus."

Gippal paused. I supposed it was for dramatic emphasis.

"I remember it because his back was to me, but Yuna called over to me. She told me to come over to them, so I did. And she introduced me to him. She told me he was going to be a famous blitzball player someday. I shook his hand to be polite, but then I left. When I looked back over my shoulder at them, they were kissing."

Gippal laughed then, and said, "Yuna was popular with the guys, you can imagine, but I still remember feeling surprised that the esteemed daughter of Lord Braska was kissing a guy like that out in public. I guess I was kind of naïve back then."

But I had stopped listening when Gippal had told me that Tidus and Yuna were kissing.

"So they were… dating?" I said. I wasn't sure what the right word was.

"Yeah, they were," Gippal said. "But here's the thing: after Tidus' injury, things fell apart between them, or something. And you know how Yuna was back then."

I kept my face blank.

"Come on, Rikku. I know you know she was a bit—shall we say?—wild."

"She just got mixed with the wrong crowd is all," I said, surely.

"Yeah, well, anyway, eventually she settled down with Baralai—which she had to do, you know."

"I'm sure she loved Baralai." I quickly corrected myself. "Loves. I'm sure she _loves_ Baralai."

Gippal let out a loud, bellowing sort of laugh.

"Come on, Rikku. They married each other for convenience. Everyone knows it."

"But you introduced them!"

"Of course. Yuna came to me, needing a way to get herself together. I knew Baralai was eying her. I set them up. But damn, I had no idea they'd be this miserable together…"

"Yeah, but—"

"Are you _that _disillusioned, Rikku?" Gippal suddenly said, pulling away from me. "Rikku, Baralai told me about that afternoon in the city. He told me you met her—Leblanc."

I suddenly felt ashamed.

"Well, why doesn't he just divorce her?" I asked, my voice small.

"Because, Rikku. He's in love with Yuna."

"Then why is he spending all that time with Leblanc?"

"Baralai just does what he wants," Gippal said. "And he gets away with it. But trust me, Rikku, he does love Yuna. The problem, though, is I'm not sure Yuna loves him."

"This makes no sense," I said. "Are you sure you're not the disillusioned one, Gippal?"

Gippal laughed again.

"Look, Rikku… Tidus wants to reconnect with Yuna. And he thinks you're the ticket to that little reunion."

"Me?" I squeaked.

"Yeah. You're Yuna's cousin. All you have to do is invite Yuna over for tea or something and then Tidus will just happen to be there. That's what he suggested, anyway."

"Who?"

Gippal laughed and took a long drink of his beer, before saying, "Tidus!"

* * *

I felt odd for the rest of the night. I felt as though I was getting wrapped up in all sorts of things I wanted absolutely no part of.

"So are you gonna do it?" Gippal asked as he dropped me off. I was still sitting in the passenger seat and he put his car in park, suggesting he wanted to chat for a bit.

"I don't know," I admitted. "I don't know if I want to get into the middle of things."

Gippal laughed and said, "Rikku, maybe you don't realize it, but you're _already_ in the middle of things."

"I guess," I said, shaking my head. "I had no idea moving here would cause me to be involved in so much… drama."

"Yeah, but it's fun, isn't it?" Gippal asked. "All this drama?"

"Well, whose side are you on?" I asked then. "Baralai's or Yuna's?"

The left side of Gippal's mouth curled just ever-so-slightly.

"Come on, Rikku, I'm only on my own side."

"So what do you think I should do?" I asked.

His whole face broke out into a smile and he said, "Whatever's gonna be the most fun."

"Yeah but…"

Gippal interrupted me by putting his arm around my neck and pulling me in for a kiss. Whatever I was about to say instantly slipped from my mind.

When he pulled away, I knew my entire face was red. I had no idea what to say or what to do.

"Like I said," Gippal just said, casually, as though he hadn't just surprised me by kissing me, "just do whatever's going to be the most fun."

* * *

I still hadn't made up my mind when I heard a familiar knocking sound on my door. Feeling a bit flustered, I opened the door and saw that, of course, Tidus was standing on my small porch.

"Hey!" he said, smiling as he always did. There was undoubtedly a nervous twitch in his smile, however.

"Hi," I said.

"Um, how are you today?" he asked. He was rocking back and forth. His blue eyes were on mine.

"Look, Tidus, Gippal talked to me," I said, deciding to stop the small-chat.

"O-Oh?" Tidus said. Now he looked eager to hear what I had to say.

"I'll do it," I said, making my mind up right then and there. Why not? It was, after all, more fun, wasn't it?

Plus, the look on Tidus' face suggested he had never been happier to hear me say anything.

"How does tomorrow sound?" I asked.

"Tomorrow?" Tidus said. He was suddenly looking around—looking at the grass, and the siding to my cottage, and he was even trying to peak inside. "Well… we need to get the grass cut, and there's a bit of paint here that needs fixed, and…"

"Tidus," I interrupted him, "would Sunday work better?"

"Well, I mean, what works for you?" Tidus asked.

"Any day, really," I lied.

"Okay. Sunday. Yes. I can get everything all set for Sunday." He spun around from his place on the porch and said, "Does my house look good from this angle?"

For the first time, I felt a bit annoyed with him. But, I stepped outside and said, "Yes, Tidus, it looks very admirable from here."

As usual, this made him look satisfied.

"Very good," he said, nodding to himself. "Sunday at two?"

"Sounds good," I said.

He smiled at me, then. A small, toothless smile, his lips pressed just slightly together. There was a sense of gratitude shining in his blue eyes unlike any I had ever seen before. Even though he never said any thanks, I knew that he was entirely grateful for what I was doing. And I guess, as I watched him walk away, back towards his dark mansion, I felt as though I had done the right thing.

* * *

I called Yuna on Saturday. At first she tried to urge me that we could enjoy tea at her place. But I told her after all of the hospitality she had shown me, it was only fair that I repay her in some way. She then asked me if I wanted her to invite Baralai as well (which I found a bit shocking) and after momentarily panicking, I told her that no, she should come alone.

"Alone?" she'd said. "This sounds scandalous. I'll be there!"

And, I thought to myself, scandalous it would be.

Later that day, a man showed up to mow my lawn. Another man showed up to fix up the paint. And then, Sunday morning, rows and rows of flowers were brought into my small place, nearly suffocating me with their pungent smells.

It was also raining, too. I couldn't help but think that Tidus should have gone along with my plan to host this little "tea" event on Saturday instead of Sunday.

It was ten minutes to two when Tidus arrived, again tapping on my door with his cain. He had arrived with four servants—one who was holding an umbrella over him and the other three were carrying crumpets and a fine silver tea set. I looked at my old, worn tea kettle that was sitting on my stove.

"How does it look?" Tidus asked, walking in and taking in the flowers that had been set up earlier. He turned to me, then, a serious expression on his face. "How do I look?"

Every time I had seen Tidus previously, he had been wearing a tuxedo. I had never seen anyone strut around in a tuxedo the way Tidus did. But today he had on a nice, navy blue tailored suit. His tie was a skinny navy blue, his undershirt navy blue, the suit navy blue. He did, however, look extremely distinguished. His hair was gelled back carefully.

"You look great," I said. In the short time I had spent with Tidus, I had always found myself complimenting him, mostly because of the way it made his eyes sparkle with pride and happiness. But today, I really meant it when I told him he looked great. He _did_ look great.

But this time, Tidus didn't seem to swell with pride at the compliment. In fact, he looked at me as though he didn't really believe me. But, he caught his reflection in an old mirror that was hanging and he straightened out his jacket and smoothed his hair carefully with his hand. Then, he walked quickly over to a chair, and sat down, lying his cane casually across his lap before apparently deciding to put it to the side.

He saw me watching him and he gave what sounded like a nervous laugh.

"I don't really need it, you know," he said, referring to the cane, which he nodded to. "But it helps."

I nodded my understanding.

Tidus shuffled in his seat a bit and the looked at his watch. Then, he looked around, tapping his hands on his knees. Then, he looked at his watch. He patted off some invisible lint on his sleeve. Then, he looked at his watch. He ran his hand over his hair again. Then, he looked at his watch.

I was about to open my mouth to start some sort of conversation to maybe calm him down, but he suddenly stood up quickly.

"She's not coming," he said, sounding incredibly angry. "I should have know."

"Tidus, there's still three minutes," I said, glancing at a clock on the mantel. "She's not even late yet."

"She's not coming," he just mumbled. He picked up his cane and started walking toward the door. He looked out the window, though, and I saw his face fall. He took a few steps backwards and spun around to face me. "She's here."

"I told you," I said, and I walked to the door.

"Y-You answer. A-And I'll just be in the other room," Tidus said, and he walked hastily off. I watched him and shook my head. I supposed I understood why he was nervous, but he was making me feel nervous too!

I opened the door and Yuna was standing there, folding down her umbrella.

"Is this honestly where you live?" She had a look of disbelief on her face. I fought a strange feeling of anger that suddenly surfaced and I had to swallow down the words "Well, if you had ever visited in Bikanel you would realize we don't _all_ live like you."

She gave me a strange look, though, and set her umbrella (a Burberry umbrella) neatly against the wall to the house and put down the hood to her matching Burberry raincoat.

"I think it's perfectly rustic and wonderful, Rikku," she said, touching my shoulder gently. "You know that, right?"

"It's nothing compared to your humongous mansion," I just said, or rather, mumbled. Then, remembering Tidus, I invited her in hastily.

"Wow, what gorgeous flowers!" Yuna said, walking to one of the large pots carrying the flowers. She turned and gave me a strange look. "I didn't realize you were so into plants."

"Uh…" I wasn't sure what to say, so I simply walked past her and glanced in the other room where I had left Tidus. But he wasn't there. I peeked into the bedroom. He wasn't there either. Then, I saw that the back door was hanging open.

I couldn't believe it. He had left!

Yuna joined me side then, and said, "What are you looking for?"

"Oh, um, nothing," I answered.

"Wow, this is a lovely tea set!" Yuna said then, dragging her finger gently across the fine silver. "Is this yours?"

The surprise on her face told me she doubted it.

"You know, Rikku, this place needs a more feminine touch—well, other than the flowers." She laughed then, but her laugh was cut short. She gave me a strange look, and said, "Is there something wrong?"

I wasn't sure what to tell her. How was I supposed to tell her that all of this—the flowers and the tea and the smell of fresh-cut grass that she carried in with her—were not my doing at all. How I was I supposed to tell her that none of this was my doing?

She took a seat on one of the chairs and folded her hands in her lap. She looked sad.

"Is there something you want to tell me, Rikku?" she asked, her voice small.

My first thought was that she knew about Tidus. Somehow, she knew that Tidus was my neighbor and that he had arranged all of this. How upset she must be that he was nowhere to be found!

But then my stomach clenched. Or did she know about Baralai?

I was about to open my mouth to tell her something—I wasn't even sure what—when there was a sound on the door. I knew it was the tapping of Tidus' cane.

Feeling a strange sense of relief, I spun around to face the door and ran over to it, ignoring Yuna completely. I opened the door, and there he stood, completely drenched from the rain.

He gave me a shocked look, as though he wasn't expecting it to be me at the door. Our eyes were on each other's and I don't think either of us were breathing, although I'm not sure why _I_ wasn't breathing.

Finally, I swallowed and said, "She's in the other room."

Tidus continued to look at me for a second, but then he walked past me, brushing against my shoulder just slightly with his sopping wet sleeve. I shut the door quietly and turned just as he disappeared into the other room where Yuna was waiting.

At first, there was no sound. Just silence.

And then, I heard Yuna's voice, small at first, but growing slightly: "I certainly am awfully glad to see you again."


	7. VII Into the Past

**Hi everyone! **I am so so so so SO sorry for taking so long to update this! The truth is, I've been working on some other projects and have been disregarding this one. I'm so sorry. That said, now that I have basically taken the story into my own hands (now that it's Yuna's POV and not following _The Great Gatsby_ so closely) I've been struggling a bit more. But you guys should all like this better because the ending to _The Great Gatsby_ is a bit sad and potentially not how I'm going to end this story. ;)

Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

**VII. Into the Past**

Often when I thought back to the past, I felt so overwhelmingly _sad_ that it was quite often a layer of tears would form over my eyes, no matter how hard I fought them. So, throughout the years, I began to train myself not to think about the past. Instead, I focused on the future, but honestly, the future was so bleak and meaningless that it almost brought me to tears as well.

So instead, I focused on the present.

But when he walked in the room, it was as though the past had walked in with him. It surrounded me, suffocating me, almost as much as the smell of the flowers that surrounded me. My vision instantly became blurred and it took some time before I recognized that there were tears in my eyes.

Of course there were tears—there were _always_ tears when I thought about the past.

A look of familiar concern was instantly in his blue eyes. He looked torn between taking a step towards me and taking a step away from me. And my heart clenched as I realized I wasn't sure which step I hoped he took.

But he neither stepped forwards nor backwards and instead remained standing where he was, his mouth slightly agape, his hair dripping in wet tendrils down almost to his shoulder. His eyes were on mine and mine were on his. I heard a slight choking noise, and I was certain it was coming from him, as though he was trying to say something but was unable to do so.

It felt like hours, days—months!—passed but then Rikku was suddenly walking in, looking from him to me, her green eyes full of uncertainty.

Finally, though—as practical as always!—she walked over to the wonderful silver tea platter and said, "Does anyone want some tea?"

But neither Tidus nor I moved. In fact, I even wondered if I had dreamed that Rikku had said anything at all.

Finally, I managed a small, "I haven't seen you in many years."

"Five years next November," Tidus said. Hearing his voice sent my body into a sort of frenzy.

I blinked a few times, which sent a tear slipping slowly down my cheek. _Five years?_ Had it really been that long?

"Five years…" I repeated, slowly.

Rikku suddenly walked back to the door.

"Where are you going?" Tidus demanded, turning slowly, as though he was worried to take his eyes off of me.

"You two… you two catch up, or whatever," Rikku said. She had a confused, sad sort of look on her face. I felt another clench in my heart. Was she wondering whether or not she'd done the right thing by reintroducing us? I looked at her and decided I could never be angry at her. Even though I was wondering as well whether she had done the right thing.

She caught my eye then and I forced a small smile. I was relieved when she returned it. And with that, she walked out, leaving Tidus and I alone.

I had thought the silence was heavy and awkward while Rikku's presence was there, but it was even stronger when she left.

"Why don't you come sit?" I finally said, nodding to the other side of the couch. I held my breath though as he took the seat. I was suddenly wishing I hadn't invited him to come so close.

"I'm sorry about this," he suddenly said, looking sheepish. "I shouldn't have… I just… I wanted to see you again."

A lump had formed in my throat and I managed to swallow it away with more ease than I had anticipated.

My feelings were out of my control. I couldn't pin down a single feeling but I was trying—and finally I realized which feeling I had landed on.

"I'm glad," I said. And when I said it, the tears were suddenly coming out of my eyes. I was cognizant of the fact that Tidus' eyes went to my wedding ring when I put my hands up to wipe the tears away.

Tidus sat back against the couch and stared straight ahead instead of at me. I quickly managed to wipe my tears and said, "I thought I'd never see you again, you know."

"Yes, I know," he said.

"Will you ever forgive me?" I wasn't sure why I said that. I wasn't even sure what I wanted his forgiveness for. But then I realized—I wanted him to forgive me for _everything_.

Tidus' eyes were back on mine.

"I forgave you long ago," he said.

Hearing him say that caused another lump in my throat and this one wouldn't go away, no matter how many times I tried to swallow it. So there I was, swallowing over and over which made it seem as though I was sobbing and Tidus sat there, just watching me.

"Do you ever see Dona anymore?" I suddenly asked. I hadn't thought too much about Dona in so many years, but I realized I was desperate to do something to break the awkwardness between us—and hopefully get rid of the pain that was swelling in my throat and my heart.

"I haven't seen her in a very long time," Tidus said. He sounded so serious when he spoke, just as he always had. I felt my eyes soften. I wanted to smile but for some reason couldn't.

"Are you still living in Zanarkand?" The lump in my throat was disappearing with every word I said, but then reappearing with every word he said.

"No. No—I'm—I'm actually—" he stood up in a clumsy manner and held his cane tightly. There was a familiar childish gleam in his eyes. "I live right next door."

"Next door?" I gasped, standing up almost as clumsily as he had. "You live here in Luca?"

"Yes, right next door!" Tidus said. In an excited frenzy, he took my arm. Then, instantly realizing what he'd done, he dropped it. But the damage was done—my entire body went numb just from his touch.

Sounding calmer, Tidus said, "It's right there. You can see my house from the window."

I looked outside, noticing that it had stopped raining. I followed the direction that Tidus was pointing and felt my face drop, so slowly I couldn't even tell that my mouth had fallen agape.

I spun quickly to face him, about to ask him how he'd managed to come upon such a fantastic place, but I was suddenly overwhelmed by how close we were standing to each other. We were just mere inches apart.

The closeness was about to make me start crying again.

But Tidus' demeanor had changed. He no longer looked rigid and uncertain, but instead calm and confident—just as he had all those years ago. I knew he wanted to kiss me. And I knew that I _wanted_ him to kiss me.

At that moment, however, we both heard the door open. Tidus turned away from me, just as Rikku walked in.

She looked at me and then looked at him. I felt as though there was a sense of annoyance in her eyes, but I wasn't sure what inspired that look.

"It's stopped raining," she said.

"So it has…" I said, turning again to look out the window. In doing so, I caught Tidus' eye. He smiled and I smiled back.

My heart began to pound in a blissful way that I had long forgotten was possible.

"Do you want to see my house?" Tidus asked me. Without waiting for an answer, he turned to Rikku and said, "Let's all go see my house."

"Um, I'll just stay here," Rikku said quickly.

"Nonsense," Tidus said. He turned to me, then, his grin so wide and familiar that I almost felt dizzy, and he offered me his arm. I didn't even pause before taking it.

"No, I'll just—" Rikku began.

"Come on, Rikku!" I just said. I felt as though my voice had raised three octaves. I also wished I could feel my arm, which had already been numb but was now tingling as it sat in Tidus'.

Tidus led the way outside then, with Rikku hesitantly trailing behind us.

Tidus pointed things out as we walked—"I had this sod transported from Mi'ihen" and "My landscaper is the same man who did the landscaping around the Temple in Kilika." My mouth fell more and more with every step we took. Especially as his mansion grew bigger and bigger.

Eventually, we were standing right in front of his mansion and the bay was spread out behind us. Even though the view was very similar from my own mansion, it seemed even more breathtaking.

"I chose this location," Tidus suddenly said, his voice rather soft, "because it's exactly across the bay from you."

"What?" I said. Even Rikku looked surprised.

"See," Tidus said, taking my hand (he did it so casually and it felt so _right_ that I honestly thought nothing of it) and pulling me to his dock. "If you squint, you can make it out." He pointed across the bay and, while squinting, I saw the flash of a green light.

"What is it?" I asked. I noticed Rikku was shielding her face with her hand, apparently also wondering what we were looking at.

"Don't you know?" Tidus looked shocked. "It's the end of your dock."

Rikku gave Tidus a strange look, but she said nothing. I wondered if she had seen the light before.

"I had no idea there was such a light at the end of my dock," I admitted.

Tidus just gave me a smile. My hand was still in his.

"Are you ready to see the house?" he asked then.

I answered with a nod.

We walked up to the house and into it, and I dropped his hand without thinking.

"This place is gorgeous!" I cried out, spinning around and looking up at the beautiful, glistening chandelier that was hanging above me. "Don't you get lonely, though, living in this big place all by yourself?"

"I always fill it with interesting people," Tidus said. "Like your friend Rikku."

I couldn't help but beam at Rikku, although she looked so uncomfortable.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Tidus asked.

I nodded quickly. It was amazing. He took us through rooms—rooms so large and ornate that even _I_ was gasping.

"How did you ever manage all of this?" I heard myself say, my voice in a sort of wonderful disbelief.

"Business, my dear," Tidus answered so quickly that it was almost as though he'd had that answer prepared his entire life. I noticed his cheeks went slightly crimson upon calling me "dear." And I'm sure mine did, too.

Eventually we were back in the main corridor, where large windows lined up on the walls, giving way to the most beautiful view of the bay I had ever seen. I spun around again, realizing that I could spend years in this mansion and never be able to appreciate all of the fine details.

Standing slightly away from me, still watching me, was Tidus, although he was speaking to Rikku.

"Inherited it? Oh, no, I did, but I lost all of that. I was in the drugstore business for a while, and the oil business, but I'm not in any of those anymore" he was saying to Rikku. But I was hardly listening—instead I was looking out across the bay, squinting, wondering why I had never noticed a green light at the end of my dock before. How long had Tidus been here—just across the bay?

How long had he been waiting for me?

And then, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by a sadness that I couldn't contain, I began to cry.

Tidus was immediately at my side.

"Are you okay?" he asked, putting his hand gently on my arm.

"Yes, it's just… it's _so beautiful_. All of it."

His face wrinkled up in a strange, choked-up sort of smile. I noticed Rikku was inching towards the door.

"It was nice to see you both," she said, but by this point, I was only slightly aware of her presence. I was too entranced by Tidus' beautiful crystal eyes, shining just as the chandelier above me was.

Rikku must have left. Tidus and I must have stayed that way, my eyes glistening softly from tears, Tidus' hand on mine…

Finally, as if frightened, Tidus took a small, quick step away from me.

He was still looking at me, but the expression on his face had changed tremendously. He looked almost scared of me.

Then, his lips tightened into a thin line and he said, "Five years…"

"Yeah," I said. I counted in my head—had it only been five? Somehow it seemed longer. But I knew he was counting the last time we had seen each other. My heart seemed to pop at the memory.

"You could have at least said goodbye," he said, his eyes still downcast.

I took a quick, sharp breath and said, "I did. I did that night. You _know_ what night I'm talking about."

Tidus' eyes slowly rose until they met mine. He looked pensive, before he said, "I thought that night was just the beginning."

I felt my eyes close. Looking into his sad, crystal eyes was too much for me.

"And I wished it had been," I said.

"It could have been, Yuna," he said, turning to face me. "It could have been." Then, his face suddenly seemed to glow. He took a step so close to me that I inhaled as though it was some sort of natural reflect. "It _can_ be," he said.

I was still holding my breath.

"It can be," he repeated again, sounding even surer of it this time. And then, he kissed me.

I allowed him to kiss me, but as soon as we separated, I told him what I knew I had to tell him: "Tidus, I'm married."

This seemed to upset Tidus. He let out a sound of scoff and backed away from me.

"Yuna, _of course_ I know that!" he said, and he suddenly took my left wrist and held it up. I realized he was examining the ring. "Don't act like I'm an idiot, Yuna."

I tore my wrist from his grasp and swallowed loudly.

"You've done a terrible thing, you know," I said, not hiding the anger that was apparent in my voice. "You just come in here and think you can…" I stopped. I didn't even know what I was saying. "Why can't you just let me go?" I finally managed, my voice cracking as I asked this question.

"Let you go?" Tidus said, looking shocked that I had said such a thing. "Yuna, I love you."

"I know you do—"

"And I know you love me too!"

I did. I did love him. I had known it from the very first time I had ever seen him.

"You're the one that's done a terrible thing," Tidus suddenly said. His voice sounded incredibly childish, but I realized it was all something I liked about him—it was _all_ something I liked about him. I loved everything about him.

And I had done a terrible thing. I closed my eyes.

"I need to go home," I finally said.

"That's it?" Tidus asked, shrugging his shoulders in a dramatic fashion. "You're just going to run away?"

"I have to think!" I cried. "Tidus, I thought… I thought I would never see you again. Don't you understand how difficult this is for me?"

I was on the verge of tears and it was apparent in both my eyes and my voice and my movements—my body couldn't stop shaking.

"Well, if we could just talk—"

"No, Tidus. If I stay here even a second longer, I'm going to—"

I had finally gone where he had wanted me to go and I knew he recognized it as his chance because his eyes suddenly flashed.

"You're going to what?" he asked, lowering his voice just slightly. He was suddenly standing near again.

I didn't want to answer that question. But I did anyway, completely on accident, when my eyes went to his lips.

And then we were kissing again, this time much more passionately than before.

* * *

The relief I felt when I returned home and found that Baralai was not there was so overwhelming that I felt as though I was going to pass out. I had hardly been able to drive myself home, being that I was shaking so badly—shaking from what, though, I wasn't entirely sure. I had managed to convince myself that I was worried that Baralai would wonder where I had been all day and why I was returning so late. But I knew I was shaking for other reasons. All I could think about was the way Tidus looked at me—I hadn't been looked at like that in _years_. Five years, to be exact.

As I prepared for bed, though, I was suddenly filled with dread. I couldn't do this. Not after everything I'd done to clear myself!

Back then, I would have called Gippal. Gippal was the one who had helped me through the mess before. But now, I called Rikku.

"Hello?" It sounded as though I'd woken her.

"Hey Rikku, it's me," I said, my voice barely above a whisper despite the fact that Baralai wasn't around.

There was silence. I realized Rikku probably wasn't sure what to say.

"Look Rikku, about this afternoon…" I began.

"It's none of my business," Rikku said quickly.

"I know, I know," I said, sitting on my bed. "But I have to talk to someone. I _can_ talk to you, right?"

I swore I heard Rikku let out an exasperated sigh, but she recovered quickly and said, "Of course, Yunie."

"So, um, Tidus and I, um, we used to, um, see each other. A long time ago."

"I know, Yunie. Five years ago. Tidus and Gippal told me."

"Gippal knows?"

"Yeah. He met Tidus once, a long time ago. And Tidus told him."

"How long have you known?"

"Not long."

"Oh. Well, I, I really liked Tidus. I still do, I guess. I… I made a lot of really, really foolish decisions back then, you know. Tidus was one of those foolish decisions."

Silence.

"But Rikku, I don't know what to do. I love him—Tidus. Well, Baralai. I mean…"

This time, there was no mistaking Rikku's sigh of exasperation.

"Look, Yunie, I'm going to give you some advice that Gippal gave me. Okay? Just do whatever you want. Whatever's the most fun, I think he said."

I smiled.

"That sounds like something Gippal would say. But he has nothing at stake! I have _everything_ at stake!"

"Like what?" Rikku asked.

"Well, my reputation."

"Which has already been tarnished."

It made me upset that Rikku wasn't sugar-coating anything. But maybe that was the reason I had called her and not Gippal. Plus, I figured the fact that I was calling so late on a Sunday night wasn't helping.

"Rikku… my dad hated Tidus. He told me he wasn't good enough for someone like me. He told me I needed someone more like Baralai."

"So you went with Baralai?"

"When my dad died, I was so lost. I had no idea what to do, Rikku!"

"Well, I just told you what I think you should do," Rikku said.

"Have fun?"

"Yes. Go with Tidus."

Hearing her say that made me positively beam.

"You really think so?"

"I like him, I guess," Rikku said. "And Yunie, you see… Baralai… he's…"

At that moment, I heard Baralai's voice.

"I've got to go, Rikku," I said quickly. A strange sort of giddiness was suddenly overcoming me and I knew I needed to hide it before Baralai saw me. "Thank you so much, my dear!"

And then I hung up, and put on what I was sure was a mischievous smile for Baralai.


	8. VIII The Party

**Okay wow, I am so so so so sorry that it took me this long to update! Seriously, switching over to Yuna's POV has been harder than I was originally expecting it to be. Oops. Oh well, it's a good challenge. And, if you want to hear some excuses, I've been working like crazy on a novel tentatively titled "THE" (weird title, right? Haha) and I'm borderline obsessed with it. Meanwhile, I'm also making way on _Combined Yards 5 _(yes, I've written FIVE parts. Oh, my offer still stands to anyone who wants to PM me their e-mail addresses for the opportunity to read the novelized Combined Yards + Combined Yards 2... and if you ask real nice, I might even send Combined Yards 3 and 4! Haha). And then my tennis elbow started acting up (mostly because of a rather disastrous trip to the driving range heh heh heh) and I was out of commission for an entire week! And THEN my favorite holiday, aka the Fourth of July, came up. Whew. But anyway, excuses aside, I just have been struggling with this.**

**BUT, here is Chapter VIII. And I have Chapter XI written, so hopefully I won't wait _too_ long before posting that. **

**Oh, and this chapter (and honestly, a bit of the next) kind of follows the new movie a bit. Which is weird, because I hated everything about that movie except for Leonardo DiCaprio. But, whatever. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

**VIII. The Party**

I hummed a song to myself as I brushed my hair, slowly, as though no matter how many times I brushed it, the tangles wouldn't leave.

"You're awfully happy today," Baralai said at my side as he spit out his toothpaste. He walked away without rinsing it down the sink, which always grossed me out.

"I'm always happy," I said, although I didn't sound convincing at all.

"What are you up to today?" Baralai asked. "I thought maybe we'd catch Gippal's game?"

"Can't," I said, quickly. "I'm meeting Rikku."

"Doesn't she have to work today?"

I turned to face Baralai, a look of shock on my face.

"Does she?" I asked.

"I don't know," he said, shrugging.

"Well, she told me she'd like to have me over for lunch."

"Weren't you just over there yesterday for tea?"

"Mm-hm. Rikku and I are becoming best friends."

Baralai was tense at my side.

"You know, I know she's your cousin and all, but Rikku and I were always really good friends."

"So?"

"So… I want to hang out with her too."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. _Of course_ Rikku wasn't a good enough alibi. I should have known that.

"Well, aren't you going into the city today?" I questioned. "I know—take someone else to the blitzball game!"

"You would hate that."

"No, honestly, I wouldn't," I said, finally putting my brush down. "How do I look?"

I spun around slowly in front of him, glowering slightly. I knew I looked _perfect_.

Baralai made a face and said, "Where are you two going to lunch at?"

"Her neighbor's," I said casually.

"Oh? Who's her neighbor?"

"Hm? You don't know him."

"Him?"

"Yevon, Baralai, can't I have male friends? Yevon knows you have plenty of lady friends—"

"What are you trying to do, Yuna? I'm not going into the city today. Does that make you happy?"

"No."

"Then what would make you happy?"

"If you would just stay out of my business!" This conversation was escalating quickly.

"Yuna, what the hell is going on with you?" Baralai asked, but he just sounded tired. "I told you, I'm not going to the city today."

"Well, you have fun. I deserve to have fun, too, right?"

"Is this some phase you're going through?"

"I doubt it's a 'phase."'

"Whatever. I'll let you go through this little phase. Have fun with Rikku and her neighbor."

"I will," I retorted, happily. It wasn't often I had an argument with Baralai. And it was even less often that I had an argument with Baralai that he even _cared_ about.

So, feeling rather proud of myself for numerous reasons, I climbed in my car and headed off towards Rikku's—well, not really, of course. But at this point, I couldn't bring myself to even _think_ that I was heading off to Tidus'.

* * *

I stretched my arms in front of me and admired my tan skin as the droplets of water that covered them shimmered in the sun. Then, I folded them and tucked them under my chin. My elbow bumped his just slightly, which caused us to exchange bright smiles, the sort of naïve smile of an early love. But this was no early love. Oh, but it certainly felt like one.

The pool spread across us and was as cerulean as the sky. And it all seemed to match his eyes—his eyes that he never took off of me.

"That was the first time I've ever swam in this pool," Tidus said. He was on his back while I was on my stomach, and his arms were folded behind his head, our elbows still _just_ touching.

"It's a lovely pool," I said, staring off past the blue, clear water and off to the bay. I stopped my eyes, though, before they reached the _other_ side of the bay.

"I'm glad you like it," Tidus said, grinning at me. I found myself fighting the urge to reach over and touch his hair.

"This entire place is incredible," I said, rolling over just slightly to look behind me at the enormous mansion. "How long have you lived here?"

"Only about three months," Tidus answered.

"Where were you before that?" I asked.

"Zanarkand, of course," Tidus said.

"Do you miss it there?"

"No. Do you miss Bevelle?"

I blinked a few times and swallowed. Yes. I missed Bevelle terribly. I even missed Zanarkand.

Tidus was waiting for an answer, but I smiled and said, "Not really."

"I'm having a party tonight," Tidus said then. "Would you like to come?"

"A party?" I asked, looking around his massive grounds where there were fountains and gardens and greatness.

"Yes. I would have liked to cancel it, honestly, but it was too late. I've already had it scheduled."

I was about to tell him that of course I would come to his party, but then my eyes went downcast.

"I'm supposed to go to a dinner with Baralai tonight," I said. "It's for some charity or something. I promised I would go."

"You promised Baralai?"

"No—I promised the lady who's putting on the dinner. It's much too late to cancel."

"Well, come after," Tidus said. "My parties go all night."

"I don't know if I'll be able to get away from Baralai," I said.

"Then bring him with," Tidus said. I searched his eyes—did he _really_ want Baralai there? But Tidus was looking back at me with the same expression as always—and he seemed perfectly fine with the thought of Baralai being there.

For some reason, recognizing that Tidus was comfortable with inviting Baralai to my party made me feel a little uncertain. Did Tidus consider us to be nothing more than just friends? We hadn't, after all, kissed since yesterday. When I'd arrived at his door earlier, he had only thrown on a huge smile and told me we were going swimming. And then we just splashed around and laughed and…

I decided to press—"Don't you think it'll be a bit, I don't know, awkward if Baralai is there?"

"No, of course not," Tidus just said. Upon seeing the face I made, though, Tidus instantly sat up and said, "I don't consider him a threat."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, sitting up as well.

"I just… I know he's not right for you, Yuna. I know you're not happy with him."

How could Tidus possibly know such a thing? Or was he just hoping? When I looked back at him, I noticed there was a sort of hopeful gleam in his eyes. That had to be it—he was simply hoping I would confirm that Baralai wasn't right for me and that I wasn't happy. But for some reason, I couldn't seem to say anything of the sort.

"So it'll be okay if I bring him…" I just said.

"Yes, of course." Tidus stood up then and stretched. "Do you want lunch?"

"Tidus…" I said, unhappy that he was _so_ casual about Baralai. "What are we doing?"

"What do you mean?" he asked. He took his seat again, close to me, but yet with a safe distance between us.

I took a deep breath and said, "Do you love me?"

He didn't hesitate before saying a breathless, "Yes."

"But I'm married."

"Yes?"

"Doesn't that bother you?"

Tidus took a deep breath, and said, "Look, Yuna, I understand. I know you couldn't wait for me. I know you had things you had to do, things you had to fix—I know there were things expected of you. I was angry at first, as you can probably imagine. I was angry at a lot of things. I just… I thought it was all unfair, you know? I even thought of taking my own life."

I gasped, but Tidus continued, cutting me off.

"But then one day—one day, Yuna—I realized that I didn't have to give up. I realized I could _make_ a second chance. That's what this is, Yuna—a second chance."

At that moment, I admired him in a way I had never admired him before.

I looked up at his house, using my hand to shield from the sun that was shining on it.

"Did you do all of this for me?" I asked.

"Yes," he said. Then, he was suddenly on his feet and was pulling me up with him. "Come with me," he said.

He led me into the house, apparently not caring that either of us were tracking water in. He led me up the stairs and into his bedroom, which is where he dropped my hand. He went off into the other room and returned with what appeared to be a scrapbook of sorts.

He opened it, and I was surprised to see a picture from my wedding. He continued flipping it—all pictures of me, clipped from different newspapers and tabloids.

"You did a great job, Yuna," Tidus said, flipping from page-to-page. "You really got your good reputation back."

I couldn't take it anymore. I walked over to him and took the book from him, closing it loudly.

"And if I cause a scandal, it's going to all go…" I couldn't seem to finish my sentence. I had felt angry, but now, holding that book, looking at Tidus, I couldn't seem to feel angry.

Tidus gently took the book from me and took it back to where it was. Then, he walked up close to me, and slipped his arms around my waist.

"It'll all go to shit," he said, finishing my sentence.

"Yes," I said, but this word was said into his mouth, for he kissed me then.

* * *

"Baralai," I said, leaning over to whisper it, "I got us invited to a party tonight."

Baralai had acted annoyed the entire evening, and now he put down his wine glass with a cling, and said, "What kind of party?"

"A—A house party of sorts," I answered. "Rikku and Gippal are both going to be there as well."

"And where is this house party?"

"It's at Rikku's neighbor's."

"Oh, splendid."

"Does that mean you want to go?"

"Honestly, Yuna, no, I don't want to go."

"Why not?"

"You're the one that never wants to do anything fun and social. Why the change in heart? Who is this neighbor anyway?"

"His name is Tidus," I said, as casually as I could manage—which was more difficult than I had originally anticipated it being.

"Tidus…" Baralai said, but there was absolutely no recognition. Which I was momentarily thankful for.

"So we're going, right?" I asked.

"Yes, but only because I could use some excitement after this boring dinner."

I couldn't help but smile slightly, because that was the first thing Baralai had said that I agreed with in far too long.

* * *

"What the hell is this?" Baralai asked as we stepped out of the car. My mouth was dropped in amazement—Tidus' place looked even more impressive when it was all lit up, shining with wonder and excitement. I almost couldn't breathe at the sight of it.

Baralai, though, was staring at it with his face scrunched up in a sort of disgust.

"Why are we here?" he asked.

"Come on," I just said, taking his arm forcefully and leading him to the door. Music was blasting and people were dancing all around. I hadn't seen anything like it in my entire life!

"Look, there's Rikku!" I said, laughing and running up to her. I hugged her quickly.

"Oh, hey Baralai," Rikku said, and I noticed she looked a bit uncomfortable at seeing him. I wanted to tell her that it was all fine, but I wasn't sure how to. So I just smiled at her.

"Where's Gippal?" I asked.

"I'm not sure," she answered.

"Do you live around here?" Baralai asked.

"Yeah, I live right over there," Rikku said.

I wasn't really listening to them at all, though. I was looking for Tidus. And when I saw him, standing across from me, with only a colorful fountain between us, I felt a warmth in my body. He was smiling at me through the water that was splashing out.

"What are you looking at?" Baralai asked. He had such a grumpy tone.

"Why don't you go get some drinks?" I just said to him.

He rolled his eyes at me but he shuffled off to the nearest bar.

"Are you sure you want to bring Baralai here?" Rikku asked as soon as he was far enough away. "Won't it just be… awkward?"

"Rikku, please, don't worry about it. Enjoy yourself! Gippal's coming, right?"

RIkku answered by giving me a serious face.

And then, Tidus was at my side.

I turned and greeted him with a smile, wishing I could greet him with a kiss instead.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"About this party? I've never seen anything like it."

"And doesn't my place look fantastic all lit up?"

"It does."

Baralai had walked back to us. He handed Rikku a drink and then handed me a drink. He was giving Tidus a very suspicious and unfriendly look.

"Baralai, this is Tidus," I said.

"We've met before," Tidus said, shaking Baralai's hand. "Remember?"

I didn't know they had met. Rikku was giving me a sort of guilty look.

"Oh, right," Baralai said, slowly. He didn't really look like he remembered.

"You do remember?" Tidus continued to press.

"Right, you were with Rikku here," Baralai just said, dismissively. This caused Tidus to frown.

At that moment, a man came up to Tidus and said something to him. Tidus looked upset, but he excused himself, telling us—although he looked at me when he said this—that he would be back shortly.

As soon as he was gone, Baralai let out a scoffing sound.

"I bet he's importing drugs or something."

"He's a businessman," I answered quickly.

"Well, I'm going to figure out for sure. What kind of business is he in, anyway?"

I looked at Rikku, but she just looked back at me and shrugged.

"I think he said something about oil and something about drugstores?" Rikku answered.

"Drugs. Just drugs," Baralai said. He looked sour as he took a drink.

I was already annoyed that Baralai was there. I looked behind me, wanting Tidus to reappear.

"Well, what do you think, Rikku?" Baralai asked. "Is he an honest man?"

"Is who an honest man?" I interrupted, even though I knew who he was talking about.

"Oh, you know who I'm talking about!" Baralai said.

"I think he is an honest man," Rikku answered then, her voice small. "There's something very likable about him."

Baralai made a hmph sound and I smiled at my cousin.

"Oh, look, there's Gippal!" I said, suddenly feeling almost as relieved as I would have had Tidus returned. "Gippal, over here!"

Gippal saw me and smiled immediately. His smile faded slightly, however, when Baralai stood up to shake his hand.

"You come to these wretched parties too?" Baralai was saying to Gippal, but Gippal was looking at me and then at Rikku and then at me. He seemed to be asking us why Baralai was there.

I wished I had an answer for him.

And then, Tidus was suddenly standing behind me, smiling at us all as though we were all friends.

"Sorry about that," he said, and he took the vacant seat next to me. "Business."

"And just what kind of business is that?" Baralai asked, leaning forward.

"The drug business," Tidus said, very seriously. So seriously, in fact, that the expression on Baralai's face was rather amusing.

"I have my hand in some drugstores," Tidus said then, clarifying. "I'm sorry that some of us have to work for our money."

My mouth twitched when Tidus said that, mostly because he had just taken a dig at Baralai that Baralai hadn't caught. Or, at least, I didn't think Baralai had caught it. But the sly smile that formed on Baralai's face said otherwise.

"Look here," Baralai said, leaning forward, being that he was across the table from Tidus. "You can wow everyone with all of these great things, but everyone is just going to come here, use your amenities and drink your liquor and then go back to their civilized lives. And when they all get sick of it, they won't even remember your name. Because these people and you have nothing in common."

I wasn't sure what Baralai was trying to get at. He'd drank heavily at dinner and he had already finished his second cocktail of the party. Gippal even gave me a look as if to ask what Baralai was rambling about. But there was a strange sort of expression on Tidus' face, as though he could break through Baralai's drunken code and see what the _real_ message was. And whatever that message was, Tidus was not fond of.

"Baralai, why don't you go introduce yourself around?" I asked then, before Baralai could continue any further. "Here, you can even take my little pencil and take down addresses. I know that's what you want to do anyway."

Baralai glared at me, but he must have known what I was insinuating.

"Fine," he said, or rather, growled. "Gip? Want another drink?"

Gippal caught my eye and then looked at Rikku, who he nodded to.

"Come on, Rikku," he said, starting to follow Baralai. "Let's get another drink."

Rikku looked at me, for a second, almost as if she wanted to make sure she had my permission. So I stood up quickly and said, "Keep Baralai occupied, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Rikku said. "See ya, Yunie."

As soon as they disappeared into the crowd, I turned to Tidus. He looked back at me with a smile and stood up, taking my hand and pulling me away. He led me quickly through people, weaving in and out of their revelries. We were just about to the gardens when one of Tidus' servants stopped him.

"Tidus, Sir," he said, his voice sounding urgent. "There's a phone call for you."

"Tell them I can't come right now," Tidus said, sounding as annoyed as Baralai had throughout the night.

"But Sir, it's—"

"I don't care," Tidus said. "Now please, see that I am not bothered."

Then, he turned to me with a grin and pulled me along. There wasn't a soul where we were and there was a beautiful clearing that allowed the moon to shine through.

Tidus turned to me and put his hands gently on my waist.

"I love you so much," he said to me before kissing me.

"I love you too," I said, so quickly that I felt as though I was trying to use my words to prove it. Then, as if suddenly inspired by the night, I said, "Let's just run away together!"

"Run away?" Tidus choked. "Run away? Yuna, that wouldn't be admirable! Just think of what everyone would say about you! I can't—we can't have that. Besides, look at my house—look at all of this! I did this all for you!"

"But Tidus, divorcing Baralai is already going to cause a fuss—don't you realize that?" I suddenly realized I was feeling angry. "Besides, you had your chance, Tidus. You never wanted to marry me."

He looked as though I had just slapped him. His eyes were wide and full of some strange sort of fury. His lips were pressed tightly together but they slowly loosened until his mouth was just slightly agape.

Finally, he blinked a few times and said, "I _couldn't_ marry you then. You know that!"

"Yes you could have!" I retorted. "I wouldn't have said no if you had asked."

He shook his head slowly.

'You know I couldn't," he just said again. "I didn't have _anything_, Yuna. I never could have provided for you! But now I can! Now, Yuna. _Now_."

"Well, it's too late," I just said, perhaps stubbornly.

"No, Yuna, it's not too late," he said, taking my hand in his and entwining his fingers with mine. "It's not."

I wanted to believe him. I did. But the idea of going through the tabloid nonsense all over again felt like a nightmare. I could just see it now—my face on cover after cover, the whispers, the people who would tell me I was a disgrace to my father's good name. Dona calling me and saying, "Ah, the great Yuna has fallen again."

"I think I need to go home," I finally just said. And then, maybe because I couldn't imagine leaving him without doing so, I took his face in my hands and kissed him.


	9. IX The Night

Okay wow. As you're all aware (if anyone is even still reading this), it has been an epically long time since I've updated this story. And obviously if I'm going to finish this story, it needs to be finished before summer ends (because _Gatsby _is such a summer story). _Sigh_. Does this happen to other people or just me-my summers always slip by _so so so fast_ and pretty soon there's only a few weeks left and I'm all of a sudden in a panic mode because I realize I didn't complete anything that was on my summer to-do list. Guh. But such is life...

Anyway, I've literally had this chapter written for probably... um... probably a month. I was just too lazy to post it and then I kept forgetting. That said, I do not have anything but a few paragraphs done on the next chapter. I can't promise that I'll finish this. And I apologize tremendously for that.

But, for now, **enjoy**!

* * *

IX. The Night

I walked back to where I had last seen Baralai feeling flustered and frustrated. I felt tired and groggy, and realized it was very late. Many of the guests had left and I was stepping through a litter of broken bottles and forgotten wine glasses. There was still music, but it sounded distant and hazy, almost as though I was dreaming it up entirely. I glanced at my watch and saw that it was going on three o'clock. How had it gotten so late? Or rather—so early.

I walked into the giant mansion that had so quickly grown familiar to me, my eyes scanning for a familiar face. The rooms were dark, though, and only a few guests lingered about here and there. I stepped over a passed-out girl, wondering if Tidus ever managed to get rid of all of the guests.

Finally, I made my way out back out to the front. There were a few cars lined up picking up people here and there, but for the most part, it was all quiet. I even noticed that some of Tidus' servants had begun cleaning up the messes from the party.

Rolling my eyes in my annoyance at not finding _any_ familiar faces, I pulled out my cell phone, wondering if Baralai had just gone home without me without letting me know. And maybe Rikku and Gippal had let him go, assuming I wouldn't be going home.

I was just about to call Baralai when I spotted Tidus walking along one of the fountains. He reached down and picked up a wine glass before tossing it carelessly into the fountain. Then, he put his hands in his pocket and looked out. I followed his gaze, wondering what it was he was looking at so intently across the bay. And then I saw the flash of the green light that was at the end of my dock. I was about to yell out to him, but at that moment, Rikku suddenly walked over to him.

It wasn't that I suspected that anything was going on between Tidus and my cousin, but I crept closer, ducking behind the fountain as I did so. My heart was pounding, and I wasn't sure if it was doing so because I was hiding away so shadily or if it was because I realized that I could hear Tidus' voice—and just the mere sound of his voice sent me into a frenzy.

"Did you have a good time?" he was asking Rikku.

"I did," she said. "How about you?"

I tensed, realizing that after the way I had left him, Tidus probably wasn't in the best of spirits.

"She didn't like it," was what Tidus said.

"Didn't like it?" Rikku said. "I'm sure she loved it."

"No, she didn't like it," Tidus said again. I heard something splash into the fountain and I wondered if he had tossed another glass in, the way he would a penny with a wish on it. "She didn't have a good time."

There was silence then. I kept waiting for Rikku to assure Tidus that I had had a good time, but apparently Rikku doubted it as much as Tidus did.

Finally, I heard Tidus' voice again.

"She doesn't seem to understand," he said.

"Understand what?" Rikku asked.

Again, there was silence. I even almost braved a look over the fountain to see if they were still there.

But finally, Tidus said, "I want to marry her. We'd go back to Bevelle and do it properly, you see. It'd be a much grander affair than her marriage to Baralai was."

"Why go back to Bevelle?" Rikku asked. "Your place would make a marvelous place for a wedding."

I looked at the house behind me. It would make a marvelous place for a wedding.

"We would have gotten married in Bevelle," Tidus said. He sounded further away, and I knew he had turned away from the fountain and was looking off across the bay again. "All those years ago—we would have gotten married in Bevelle."

"Yeah, but that was then," Rikku pointed out quickly.

Tidus made a strange sort of sound. It was as though he started to immediately say something but then cut himself off. I went ahead and braved a look across the fountain at them. He was staring at Rikku with an incredulous look.

"It has to be just the way it would have been back then," Tidus said. He sounded upset.

"But why?" Rikku asked. "You're both here in Luca now, together. Isn't that enough?"

I heard Tidus laugh. It was a strange, bitter sounding sort of laugh. I crouched even further in my hiding spot.

"It has to be as though we were never apart," Tidus said, his voice sounding strangely determined. "She has to tell Baralai she never loved him."

There was silence again. My heart was pounding too hard for me to see what was going on.

Finally, Rikku said a small, somewhat uncertain: "Tidus, you can't repeat the past."

"Can't repeat the past?" Tidus cried, so quickly that I jumped slightly. "Of course you can!"

I heard someone behind me, then, and I quickly turned around, letting out a gasp that I hoped wasn't too audible. I saw that it was Gippal, and he was standing at the top of the stairs, giving me a strange look. I quickly put my finger to my mouth to signal to him that I didn't want to be heard. He answered by giving me a quick nod.

He ignored me then, and walked around the fountain.

"There you are," I heard him say, and I assumed he was speaking to Rikku. "Have either of you seen Baralai or Yuna?"

I beamed slightly, glad that Gippal hadn't blown my cover.

"No," Rikku answered. I peeked over the fountain and saw that their backs were to me. Gippal seemed to be ushering them away from the fountain. I smiled again, glad to have him as my friend.

Then, I stood up and quickly walked away before they could see that I was ever there.

* * *

I went back into Tidus' house and called Baralai. He didn't answer, though, so I then called Rikku.

"Hey!" she answered, sounding rather chipper for it being so early in the morning. "Where are you?"

"I'm still at Tidus'," I said. Where are you?"

"Out in front by the bay. Come join us."

I hung up and walked out. Rikku was next to Gippal, and they were both sitting at the edge of the fountain that I had previously been hiding behind.

"Where's Tidus?" I asked, feeling disappointed that he wasn't there.

"He had business to attend to, or something," Gippal said with a loud yawn.

"Where's Baralai?" Rikku asked.

"I don't know," I said with a shrug. I looked at Gippal, but Gippal immediately avoided my eyes. I knew that Gippal knew exactly where Baralai was. But I decided not to press.

"Well, what now?" Gippal asked then, standing up.

"I suppose we go home?" I said with a shrug. "It's almost four now."

"Do you want to wait for Tidus?" Rikku asked.

I looked behind me at the house. It appeared almost tragic now that the party had completely died down.

"I think he thinks I've left," I said. "We got in a bit of an argument, I'm afraid."

"Well, it's late and we're all tired and irritable," Rikku said, standing up. "Do you want me to take you guys home?"

"I'll call for a car," a voice behind us said. My heart immediately sped, because I knew it was Tidus.

"I actually have my car here," Gippal said quickly. He shook Tidus' hand and turned to me. "Do you want me to drop you off, Yuna?"

"That won't be necessary," I said, hoping Gippal didn't hear the slight shake in my voice. I gave him a hug then, and kissed him on the cheek. I knew he could tell I was trying to thank him for not blowing my cover earlier.

"Alright. Goodnight everybody," Gippal said. He gave us all a wave and then started off.

"I-I'm gonna go, too," Rikku said. "Goodnight, guys."

"Goodnight," Tidus and I both said in a strange sort of embarrassed unison. We stood in silence awkwardly as Rikku disappeared.

Finally, Tidus looked at me and said, "I thought you'd gone home."

"I planned on it," I admitted. "But I couldn't find Baralai."

Tidus rolled his eyes.

"I'll call a car for you," he said then. He started to walk away.

"Don't," I said. It came out without me even thinking about it. I even surprised myself.

"What?" Tidus said, stopping and turning to face me.

It was harder to say it this time. But, I swallowed and said it again.

"Don't."

* * *

It was habit for me to check my phone first thing in the morning. Nothing seemed amiss at all until I saw the eight missed calls I had from Baralai along with a splattering of "Where are you?" texts. I dropped my phone on the nightstand it had been sitting on and felt a moment of panic—_where was I_?

I felt calm then, and I laid back down, my head sinking into the lush pillow that was behind me. I was with Tidus. None of last night had been a dream.

I turned to look at him, only to realize he wasn't there. His spot next to me was vacant. Maybe I had dreamt it after all? But I knew I hadn't. I knew exactly what had happened. It all just seemed too good to be true.

I noticed then that a beautiful silk robe had been laid out, and there was also a bucket of ice with different beverages in it. I smiled and slipped on the robe and took a bottle of water.

I was just about to leave the room in search of Tidus when my phone suddenly buzzed at my side. I swooped it up and was not surprised to see that Baralai was calling. Letting out a sound of exasperation, I answered it quickly.

"Hello?" I said.

"Where the hell are you?"

I let out a loud yawn and said, "At Rikku's."

"Why didn't you come home last night?"  
"Well, I spent an hour trying to find you and then got angry that you left without me."

"I couldn't find you."

"I had my phone on me the whole time. You never called me."

"I was looking for you, though. Yevon, Yuna, I shouldn't have to call you when we're at the same party. You're the one that disappeared."

"Well, when I wanted to be found, you were not around," I said. "And I tried to call you, but you didn't answer."

"My phone died."

"Mm-hm, sure it did," I said, stretching again. I was suddenly aware of the fact that I felt greater than I had in a long, long time.

"Well, would you get home? I told the Maester we'd be at his luncheon today."

"You'll have to go without me," I said.

"Is this some sort of joke?"

"No. Why would you even think I'm joking?"

"Yuna, you know as well as I do that the only reason we got invited to this luncheon is because of your dad's connections. I can't just show up."

"Sure you can. You're the one whose sister married the Maester's nephew."

"Get home. Now." His growl was right in my ear.

"I don't feel like going," I said stubbornly. "Go without me and have fun. Goodbye!"

"Yuna don't you dare h—"

I hung up and tossed my phone back where it was. Then, feeling rather pleased, I turned my phone off completely. Sitting there, in Tidus' bed, and knowing that Baralai had no way of reaching me suddenly made me feel completely liberated.

I sat there for a while, upright in the bed, my eyes lazily looking out the wide windows. Everything looked so peaceful.

I heard the door open then and I turned swiftly to meet my visitor, knowing that my smile showed who I was hoping was walking in.

"Oh, hey, you're awake," he said, grinning at me.

"I am," I said, suddenly feeling self-conscious about my appearance. He was dressed and showered and looked so perfect.

"Your phone's been going off like crazy," Tidus said, nodding to it.

"It's just Baralai," I said, waving at it dismissively. "I took care of it."

"I was half tempted to answer it myself," Tidus said, taking a seat on the bed, his back to me. "I figured that would upset you, though."

"Who knows," I replied. "It would have been a bit funny."

"Is that all this is to you?" he asked me, looking at me over his shoulder. "Some sort of joke?"

Him asking me that hurt.

"No, not at all," I said, sitting so that I was facing him. "I'm sorry if I gave you any reason to think that."

"Then you'll divorce him and marry me?"

I felt my bottom lip tuck under my teeth. I thought back to the conversation I had overheard between him and Rikku.

"I don't know," I said, and it broke my heart to hear myself say that.

I noticed a twinge of annoyance in his eyes, but overall he hid his emotions well.

Finally, I scooted myself so that I was sitting next to him and I took his hand in mine.

"But I want to," I said. "I really do. But don't you think we have to wait for the right time?"

"And when would that be?" Again, I noticed a bit of annoyance, but overall he was remaining calm.

"I'm not sure," I admitted. "We should wait for something else to happen—something major, you know. And then our little escapades and affairs and my divorce can all just fly under the radar."

"Why do you care so Yevon-damned much?" Tidus asked, the annoyance finally breaking through. He took his hand from mine and stood up, his hands in is pockets. He walked over to the window and leaned against the wall, his eyes looking out across the bay. I suddenly hated that we were right across from Baralai.

"If it was only my reputation we were toying with, then it wouldn't be a problem," I said. "But it's also my father's. I can't do that to him again, Tidus."

"He's dead, Yuna."

That silenced me. It even made me feel a bit angry. Tidus was part of the reason I'd managed to ever stop grieving over my father's death. He didn't need to remind me of the facts.

"That doesn't mean his legacy doesn't live," I said, pointing to myself.

"Well, look at me," Tidus said, spinning around to face me. He was wearing a perfectly tailored suit that made his eyes shine just so. "And look at all of this," he continued. "Everyone will understand, Yuna. All of _Spira_ will understand why you divorced Baralai. You don't have to be ashamed of me, anymore."

"Tidus, I was never _ashamed_ of you," I said, and it was my turn to try and hide my annoyance. "You know that."

"No, I didn't know that," Tidus said. He crossed his arms and looked back out across the bay. I wanted to yell at him to stop doing that. "One day you were mine, the next you were moved back to Bevelle, and the rumor was that you were starting to see a fine young fellow named Baralai. What the hell was I supposed to think, Yuna?"

"That I was trying to fix my reputation."

"And you couldn't do that with some washed-up, injured blitzball player." Tidus rolled his eyes and looked out the window again, but this time I knew he was only doing it so that he wasn't looking at me.

"Do you want me to tell you that that's exactly what I was thinking?" I asked, my voice a bit soft. "That yes, I needed to fix my father's reputation and my reputation and I knew Baralai was the ticket to doing that and _not_ you? Is that what you want me to say, Tidus? Because I will. I'll say it."

I was growing angrier and angrier with every word I spoke.

"You're so careless, Yuna," Tidus said. "I'll call a car for you."

"Okay. You'll ship me back off across the bay. Why don't I just swim across? Maybe then I can drown and you and Baralai can both just move on with your lives."

Tidus didn't respond. He simply walked up to the one of the phones that was in the room and picked it up.

"Tromell? Call for a car for my guest, please."

"You're an ass," I said, even though I hardly ever spoke to anybody that harshly.

Tidus just laughed to himself, hanging up the phone carefully.

"I'm trying to do the right thing, here, Yuna. Can't you see that? If it gets out that you spent the night last night, your reputation is going up in flames. If you just casually divorce Baralai—"

"There's no such thing as a casual divorce, Tidus. Not here. Not in the circles I'm in."

"There's also no such thing as a casual love affair, Yuna," Tidus was quick to point out. "Trust me, honey, we can do this every night. I'm more than fine with that. But it will get out. And that's not going to be good."

"Or I can walk away and never come back."

"Sure," Tidus was almost _too quick_ to agree with me. "If that's what you want, Yuna."

It wasn't what I wanted. He could see through me just as he could see through the glass bottle of water I was drinking.

"You frustrate me," I said, a bit immaturely.

"And you frustrate me, too, darling."

Somehow, while we were bickering, he had managed to creep closer and closer to me. He did it so easily and quickly that I didn't even notice until he was suddenly kissing me. And just like that, I forgot that we had been bickering at all. I welcomed him back into the bed and the only thing that could possibly interrupt us was Tromell knocking to inform us that the car had arrived.


End file.
